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GENU  T.J.JACKSON 


r  ii  i:    M  i-  k 


STONEWALL   JACKSON 


OFFICIAL  PAPERS,  COTEMPORAR)   NARRATIVES,  \M< 
PERSONAL  A<ui'\l\T\\rK 


BY   A    VIRGINIA  N 


-1  have  ju>t  received  your  n.><<-.  in  forming' me  that  you  wore  wounded.     1  cannot 
express  my  regret  ;rt  the  occurrence     Conld   I  ted  events,  I  should  bAve 

v  hoe  en,  for  the  good  uf  ih..-  country,  to  have  been  disabled  in  your  3tead      l  co*- 
grattilate  to  your  -i  ill 


RUM,*!  OND: 
A  Y  R  E  S    &    W  A  D  1 : 


Jul.  i . .:  ...  cording  i..  the  -^  in  the  ye  u  Ho;;  tj\ 

L\  RE!     .    M  An::. 


District  of  Virgini 


TO    THE    RE A DEE 


This  work  has  been  written  under  disadvantages  which 
entitle  it  to  the  liberal  criticism  of  the  reader.  It  was  un- 
dertaken  without  thought  df  the  probable  activity  of  the 
summer  campaign,  and  ha>  been  composed  in  bivouac — by 
the  road-side — immediately  before  and  after  engagements — 
amid  scenes  and  under  circumstances  which  have  rendered 
deliberate  writing  impossible.  This,  and  my  inability  to  cor- 
rect the  proof-sheets,  should  excuse  the  errors  of  the  work. 

All  that  I  claim  for  the  narrative  is  tritth.  This  1  think 
it  possesses,  and  the  merit  is  not  trifling.  Beyond  its  value 
as  au  accurate  statement  of  events,  derived  in  the  main  from 
official  documents,  I  claim  nothing  for  if — style  least  of  all. 

A  religious  paper  has  made  an  incredibly  violent  and  in- 
sulting attack  upon  the  work  and  the  author,  while  the 
former  was  in  press  and  the  latter  absent  in  the  field. 

To  this  attack  T  have  no  abusive  epithets  to  utter  iu  reply. 
The  good  people  of  the  South  shall  judge  between  us. 

Some  of  the  material  of  this  sketch  is  original;  but  the 
matter  illustrating  the  official  reports  has  been  chiefly  drawn 
from  cotemporary  publications.  A  considerable  number  of 
these  slips,  some  of  them  very  interesting  and  curious,  were 
Unfortunately  captured  by  the  enemy  about  a  mouth  since. 
No  MS.  was  lost,  however;  aud  the  prediction  of  friends, 
that  the  work  would  probably  be  first  published  in  Xew  York, 
wns  not  verified. 

Constant  movements,  ui'-at   events,  and  duties  which  could 


TIM      It  K  \l'l  l: 


uot  be   neglected,  have  made  this  book  unequal   to  the   . 
subject  of  which  it    treats.      Hut    the  intention  <>f  the  writer 

in  composiug  it  was  an   h irable  nnd  worthy  one,  as  all  who 

know  him,  he  feels  confidi  at,  will  believe 

An  elaborate*  and  carefully  prepared  biography,  based  upon 
ample  materials,  is  promised  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Dabney,  a 
friend  of  the  deceased  leader,  and  especially  competent  to 
describe  the  religious  phase  of  his  character. 

No  one  will  look  for  that  volume  with  greater  iaten 
read  it  with  more  unalloyed  pleasure,  than  the  writer  of  the 
present  sketch. 

p   .  July  21,   I  863. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


"  Jackson  is  dead  I" 

Seldom  have  words  penetrated  more  deeply  to  the  heart 
of  a  great  natioD.  The  people  of  the  Confederate  States 
had  begun  to  regard  this  immortal  leader  as  above  the 
reach  of  fate.  He  had  passed  unhurt  through  such  des- 
perate contests  \  his  calm  eyes  had  surveyed  so  many  hard 
fought  battle-fields,  from  the  commencement  of  the  combats 
to  their  termination,  that  a  general  conviction  of  the  hero's  in- 
vulnerability had  impressed  every  heart — no  one  could  feel 
that  the  light  in  those  eyes  of  the  great  soldier  would  ever  be 
quenched.  But  that  Providence  which  decrees  all  things 
wisely  at  last  sent  the  fatal  bullet ;  and  the  South  is  called 
upon  to  mourn  the  untimely  death  of  one  who  seemed  to  his 
countrymen  the  chosen  standard  bearer  of  liberty.  After  the 
battle  of  Chancellorsville  and  while  the  wound  of  the  fenious 
soldier  attracted  to  him  the  warmest  sympathy  and  drew  forth 
the  earnest  prayers  of  many  "thousands  for  his  recovery,  the 
journals  of  the  land  contained  many  notices  of  his  services  and 
genius,  and  his  death  was  alluded  to  as  a  calamity  too  fright- 
ful to  be  contemplated.  Well  has  one  of  these  journals  in 
speaking  of  Lee  and  Jackson  said  :  "It  is  an  honor  to  breathe 
the  air  they  breathe.  Together,  they  make  up  a  measure  of 
glory  which  no  nation  under  Heaven  ever  surpassed.  Other 
great  leaders  we  have,  to  whom  unstinted  praise  is  due  and 
everywhere  gladly  accorded ;  but  the  rays  of  their  fame  con- 
verge and  accumulate  but  to  add  to  the  dazzling  splendor  that 
illuminates  the  names  of  Lee  and  Jackson. 

1* 


\i  [NCR0D1  0TOE1  , 

••  The  central  figure  of  this  war  is,  beyond  all  question,  thai 
ofRoberl  lv  Lee.  His,  the  calm,  broad  military  intellect  thai 
reduced  the  chaos  after  Donelson  to  form  and  order.  Bui 
Jackson  is  the  motive  power  that  executes,  with  the  rapidity 
of  lightning,  all  that  Lee  can  plan.  Lee  is  the  exponent  of 
Southern  power  of  command  ;  Jackson,  the  expression  of  its 
faith  in  God  and  in  itself,  its  terrible  energy,  its  enthusiasm 
and  daring,  its  unconquerable  will,  its  contempt  of  danger  and 
fatigue,  its  capacity  to  smile,  as  with  bolts  of  thunder,  the 
cowardly  and  cruel  foe  that  would  trample  under  foot  its 
liberty  and  its  religion. 

"■  Jackson  is  uo  accidental  manifestation  of  the  powers  of 
faith  and  courage.     He  came  not  by  chance  in  this  daj    and 
to  this  generation.     He  was  born  for  a  purpose.      In  this  t  on 
fiction,  he  rests  serenely,  awaiting  the  healing  of  his  wound  3 . 
Milling  once  more  to  hear  the  wild   cheers  of  his  mcu  as  he 
rides  to  the  front;  or,  if  that  be  denied  him,  content  to  n 
from   the  held,   a   maimed,   humble,   simple   Christian    man 
Civil  honor,  were  it  the  •  highest  in  the  gift  of  the  country, 
<  ould  not  add  one  cubit  to  the  stature  of  his  glory. 

"  Even  should  he  die,  his  fiery  and  unquailing  spirit  would 
survive  in  his  men.  He  has  infused  into  them  that  which 
cannot  die.  The  leader  who  succeeds  him,  be  he  whom  he 
may,  will  be  impelled,  as  by  a  supernatural  impulse,  to  emu- 
late his  matchless  deeds.  Jackson's  men  will  demand  to  be 
led  in  '  Stonewall  Jackson's  way.'  The  leader  who  will  not 
or  cannot  comply  with  that  demand,  must  drop  the  baton 
(juickly.  Jackson's  corps  will  be  led  forever  by  the  niemory 
of  its  great  cheiftaiu." 

Alas  !  the  termination  of  his  wound  was  fatal.  The  great 
soul  has  passed  away  from  us :  and  we  are  left  without  his 
sagacious  counsels,  his  splendid  powers  of  execution ;  his  uu- 
erring  judgment,  and  that  intuitive  genius  for  war  which 
m-de  him,  in  his  sphere,  the  first  of  living  leader^  and  ranked 
him  with. the  greatest  who  have  lived  in  all  tide  of  time. 


iNTKOfn  <  ToiU  .  Vll 

It  is  the  life  of  this  famous  General  that  wc  now  propose  to 
write — a  popular  and  unstudied  record  of  his  career — for  the 
satisfaction  of  that  honorable  curiosity  Which  his  countrymen 
feel  in  relation  to  his  services.  Those  services  need  no  record 
indeed  :  for  they  are  graven  in  imperishable  characters  on  the 
tablets  of  every  heart.  But  some  portious  of  this  great  career 
may  have  been  obscured  amid  the  smoke  and  dust  of  these 
hot  days  of  battle  :  and  the  object  of  these  pages  is  to  review 
them  succinctly  and  furnish  some  personal  details  of  the  hero's 
character — the  full  history  of  the  General  and  portrait  of  the 
individual  being  left  for  aftertimes,  when  the  tranquil  days  of 
peace  will  afford  opportunity  for  deliberate  investigation,  col- 
lection  o(  facts,  and  verification  of  every  detail. 


CONTENTS 


0 

To  the  Reader • iii. 

INTRODUCTORY V. 

CHAPTER    1. 
Birth,  Parentage  and  Early  Services  in  Mexico i;; 

CHAPTER  II, 
Professor  at  the  Virginia  Military  Institute— Appointed  <'olo- 
ncl  iu  the  Virginia  Line IT 

CHAPTER  III.' 
Engagement  at  Falling  Waters ' 21 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Battle  of  Manassas | 25 

CHAPTER  V. 
Jackson's  Farewell  to  the  Old  Brigade  32 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Wini'T  Expedition  to  Rornncy $5 

CHAPTER    VII. 
The  Battle  ol    Ivcrnstowu , .:"' 

CHAPTER   VI I L 
The  Battle  of  McDowell v.\ 

CHAPTER   IX. 
The  Battle  of  Winchester 1$ 


X  CONTENTS. 


OHAPTEB 

rhe  Battle  of  I  

OHAPTEB    XI. 

of  Poit  Republic 

OHAPTEB  XII. 

[llusti  R-omnej      Kernstowu 

CHAPTEB  XIII. 

Illustrations — McDowell:  Winchester 33 

OHAPtEB  XIV. 
Illii  tfation    -Cro      Keys:   Port  Republic ■"' 

OHAPTEB  XV. 
"ii  in  June,  L8U2 '..      lo; 

•       CHAPTEfR  XVI. 
[•old  Harbour ill 

CHAPTER   XVII. 
M"  Retreatol  McClellan  to  Malvern  Hill 12J 

rilAI'TKK   XVIII. 
ruj>c L35 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
Cedar  Ruri 1  i  • 

CHAPTER  XX. 
Details,    I  13 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
T!r   March  to  Manassas..^ 159 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
Jackson  at  Bay \  >■'• 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
Manassas:    August  29,  L862 177 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
Manassas :    August  30,  1862 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
Invasion  of  Maryland 195 

CHAPTER   X.Wi. 
§harp9burg 

CSAPTER   XXVII. 
The  Army  Resting 219 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
Fredericksburg 225 

CHAPTER   XX IX. 
Winter  Quarters  at  Moss  Neck 

CHAPTER    XXX. 
Hooker  Advances 24J 

CHAPTER   XXXI. 
The  Wilderness — Chancellors  ville 

CHAPTER   XXXII. 
"II  is  all  Right" 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
Jackson,  the  Soldiej;  and  the  Man 2  i  8 

APPENDIX  I. 
Operation;  ol   General  Jackson's  Command  from  September 

oil  to  September  27th,  186% — Official  Report - 

4 

APPENDIX  II. 
"The  Old  Stonewall  Brigade" 301 


i:  i!  i:  A  T  \ . 


Among  those  error.-  which  have  crept  into  ilii-  work  from  the 
unavoidable  haste  with  which  it  has  been  composed,  the  following 
are  important  : 

On  page  177,  for  "  Manassas,  Aug.  _'!»,  1863,"   rend  "  Mann 
Aug.  29,  1862." 

On  .  for  "He  posted  his  guns  so  as  to  command  tin- 

town,  drew  up  for  the  assault,  and  demanded  an  instant  sur- 
render,*' read  "  He  posted  his  guns  so  as  to  command  the  town  on 
every  side,  and  opened  upon  it  with  a  fire  so  sleadv  and  irre!  i  tible 
t)i;u  the  enemy's  guns  were  soon  silenced.' 


LIFE 


STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

CHAPTER  I.    • 

BIRTH,    PARENTAGE    AND    EARLY    SERVICES    IN    MEXICO. 

Thomas  Jonathan  Jackson  was  bora  January  21, 1824, 
in  Clarksburg,  Harrison  County,  Virginia.  His  great  grand- 
father, an  Englishman  by  birth,  emigrated  to  the  western 
portion  of  Virginia  :  and  Edward  Jackson,  grandfather  of  the 
General  was  surveyor  of  Lewis  county  for  a  long  time,  repre- 
senting it  in  the  Legislature.  His  son,  Jonathan  Jackson, 
father  of  the  General,  moved  to  Clarksburg,  where  hcHBtudied 
and  commenced  the  practice  of  law  with  his  cousin,  Judge 
John  G.  Jackson,  acquiring  considerable  reputation,  and  mar- 
rying Miss  Neal,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Neal,  of  Wood  county. 
He  however  became  embarrassed  in  his  circumstances  by  go- 
ing security  for  friends,  and  all  his  property  was  eventually 
swept  away.  When  he  died,  in  1827,  his  children  were  left 
peuuilesss  These  children  were  four  in  number — two  sons 
I  aud  two  daughters — Thomas,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  being 
I  the  youngest,  and  at  the  time  but  three  years  old. 

The  child  was  thus  left  upon  the  very  threshold  of  life  to 
learn  the  hard  lesson  of  poverty.  But  this  lesson,  thus  early 
learned,  bore  ample  fruits  in   a  soil  so  rich  aud  auspicious  to 


14  LIFE   OF    STONEWALL   JA'KSnN. 

the  finer  growth  of  the  human  soul.  The  young  mail  waa 
taught  from  the  very  commencement  of  his  earthly  career  to 

make  up  by  honest  toil  for  the  neglect  of  fortune,  and  in- 
stead of  frittering  away  his  time  and  faculties  in  the  hauuts 
of  pleasure  or  the  frivolous  pursuits  of  youths  generally,  to 
turn  his  attention  to  the  more  ennobling  aims  of  life,  and  tit 
himself  for  that  career  in  which  lie  was  to  secure  his  great 
fame. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  his  parents  be  was  taken  to  the 
home  of  an  uncle  in  Lewis  county,  and  remained  at  this  plac 
the  family  homestead  of  the  Jackson's,  in  which  his  father 
had  been  born — until  he  reached  the  age  of  seventeen.  Here 
he  labored  on  the  farm  in  summer  and  went  to  school  three 
months  in  the, winter,  gaining  the  rudiments  of  a  plain  En- 
glish education — what  he  acquired  subsequently  was  due  to 
his  stay  at  West  Point,  and  his  ultimate  studies  at  the  Vir- 
ginia Military  Institute  His  habits  of  life,  even  at  this  early 
age,  are  said  to  have  been  grave  and  serious — his  discharge  of 
every  duty  conscientious  and  complete,  lie  assisted  his  un- 
cle in  the  management  of  the  farmland  soon  secured  among 
the  residents  of  the  county  a  high  character  for  industry,  in- 
telligence and  probity.  His  orphan  coudition  excited  great 
sympathy  among  the  neighbors  who  knew  and  respected  the  4 
good  character  of  the  Jackson  family  ;  and  every  assistance 
was  rendered  him  in  his  struggle  to  carve  out  his  own  path- 
way in  life,  and  secure  an  honorable  independence.  A  proof' 
of  this  friendly  sympathy  is  contained  in  the  fact  that  at  the 
age  of  sixteen,  he  was  elected  constable  of  the  county  of  Lewis, 
the  duties  of  which  office  he  discharged  with  intelligence  and 
credit, 

The  inclinations  of  the  young  man  seem  however  to  have 
pointed  early  towards  arms  as  a  profession.  Some  hereditary 
instinct  of  his  family  for  war  probably  developed  itself  in  tie 
grave  and  serious  youth-r-but  to  those  who  believe  as  we  do 
that  a  mightier  hand  than  man's  shapes  all   human  events. 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON.  15 

this  early  inclination  will  appear  to  have  been  the  means  of 
fitting  him  for  the  grand  part  he  was  eventually  to  have  in 
the  assertion  of  Southern  liberties.  It  is  certain  that  young 
Jackson  fouud  himself  impelled  toward  a  military  career,  and 
at  the  age  of  seventeen  he  set  out  for  Washington  on  foot 
to  secure,  if  possible,  an  appointment  as  cadet  at  West  Point. 
This  he  was  enabled  to  do  through  the  instrumentality  of  some 
political  friends,  and  he  entered  upon  his  studies  there  in  1842. 

In  July,  1846,  at  tl*e  age  of  twenty-two,  he  graduated  with 
distinction,  was  brevetted  2d  Lieutenant  and  immediately  or- 
dered to  report  for  duty  in  Mexico,  under  General  Taylor. 
He  served  under  that  commander  until  Gen.  Scott  took  the 
field  when  he  was  transferred  to  the  command  of  the  latter. 
His  military  career  was  distinguished  and  his  promotion  rapid. 
Iu  August,  1847,  he  was  made  1st  Lieutenant  in  Magruder's 
Battery;  brevetted  Captain  "for  gallant  aud  meritorious  con- 
duct in  battles  of  Contreras  and  Churubusco,"  August  20, 
1847,  (Aug.  1848j)  and  brevetted  Major  "for  gallant  and 
meritorious  conduct  in  battle  of  Chepultepec,"  September  13, 
1847,  (  March  1849.  )  No  other  officer  had  so  distinguished 
himself  and  risen  30  rapidly  as  the  young  Virginian.  The  un- 
known youth  had,  iu  this  brief  space  of  time,  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  his  Generals,  and  become  one  of  the  most  promising 
young  officers  of  the  army. 

The  climate  of  the  country  had,  however,  told  powerfully 
upon  a  frame  at  no  time  very  robust.  His  health  became  so . 
impaired  that  he  was  unable  to  discharge  his  duties — aud  with 
the  high  seuse  of  honor  which  marked  his  character  he,  on 
the  conclusion  of  peace  resigned  his  commission.  (Feb.  29, 
1852.)  Returning  to  Virginia,  he  obtained  a  Professorship 
in  the  Virginia  Military  Institute,  and  continued  in  the  per- 
formance of  the  important  duties  of  this  position  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  present  war.  Soon  after  entering  upon 
his  duties  at  the  Military  Institute,  he  married  Miss  Juukin, 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Junkin,  Principal  of  the  Washing- 


1(3  LIP*    01     STONJBWALL   JACKSON. 

Urn  College.     This  lady  and  her  children  died,  and  he  was 
rwards  hiarried  to  Miss  Morrison,  of  North  Carolina — his 

0  ily  living1  child,  a  daughter,  but  recently  born,  b<  ing  the  sole 
i    ui'  of  this  marriage. 

Fei  of  the  brief  career  of  the  young  soldier  in  Mex- 

i'  >  remain,  tending  to  throw  any  light  upon  his  personal ehar- 
— that  unique  individuality  which  lias  sinde  attracted  to 
hi  a  the  eyes  of  the  whole  world.  The  brief  official  recogni-v 
i:  a  of  his  "gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  "  remains;  hut 
beyond  this  we  find  lit :le.  His  profound  religious  sentiments 
it  is  however  known,  was  at  this  time  fully  developed.  lie 
did  notyjfike  many  other  Christians,  confine  himself  to  barren 
faith,  but  actively  exerted  himself  iu  the  cause  of  God.  lie 
resirained  all  profanity  in  his  camp,  welcomed  army  colpor- 
teurs, distributed  tracts,  and  endeavored  to  have  every  regi- 
ment in  the  army  supplied  with  a  Chaplain.  "  He  was  vul- 
g  irly  sneered  at,"  it  is  said,  ".  as  a  fatalist;  his  habits  of  solil- 
oquy were  derided  as  superstitious  conversations  with  a  fami- 
liar spirit*;  but  the  confidence  he  had  in  his  destiny  was  the 
u  ui  ailing  mark  of  genius,  and  adorned  the  Christian  faith 
which  made  him  believe  that  he  had  a  distinct  mission  of 
duty,  in  which  he  should.be  spared  for  the  ends  of  Provi- 
dence." It  would  seem,  indeed,  that  even  at  this  early  perjo(J 
of  liis  life  he  had  fully  embraced  that  doctrine  of  Predestina- 
tion which  undoubtedly  marked  his  character  very  strongly 
i.i  letter  years.  Xo  intelligent  person  has  ever  attributed  to 
him  the  vulgar  and  shocking  sentiment  of  "fatalism" — but  it 
seems  certain  that  from  an  early  period  in  his  career  he  es- 
poused the  Presbyterian  doctrine  of  Providential  supervision 
aud  direction  of  human  affairs,  to  the  fullest  extent:  and  had 
but  one  feeding  which  may  be  accurately  summed  up  and  ex- 

1  re.s  ed  in  the  words  "Do  your   duty   and   leave  the  rt 
God." 

It  is  said  that  while  in  Mexico,  a  battery  of  the  enemy  was 
pouring  a  storm  of  shot   and  shell   down  a  road,  along  which 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACK80tf.  17 

he  wished  his  men  to  advance.  They  remained  under  cover, 
out  of  the  fire,  shaken  in  nerve  and  fearing  to  venture  forth. 
This  was  excessively  distasteful  and  mortifying  to  their  young 
commander,  and  leaving  them,  he  advanced  to  the  road,  an  1 
calmly  walked  up  and  down  among  the  plunging  shot  and 
shell,  calling  out  coolly,  "  Come  on — this  is  nothing— -you  .-<  e 
they  can't  hurt  me  I" 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that,  cither  from  native  courage  or  th,  t 
sentiment  of  predestination  alluded  to,  young  Jackson  had  al- 
ready acquired  the  dauntless  nerve  and  coolness  which  after- 
wards rendered  him  so  famous. 

The  penetrating  eyes  of  Napoleon,  had  he  seen  thafryouth, 
calmly  walking  amid  the  heavy  fire  of  the  enemy's  artillery, 
and  declaring  coolly  that  it  "  could  not  hurt  him,"  would  have 
discerned  much  in  his  face — would  have  understood  that  this 
young  mau  would  "  go  far." 


CHAPTER  II. 

PROFESSOR    AT     THE    VIRGINIA     MILITARY     INSTITUTE — AT- 
POINTED  COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  LINE. 

Jackson  remained  at  the  Military  Institute  in  discharge  of 
his  duties  until  the  spring  of  1861.  Then  the  time  for  the 
full  display  of  the  great  faculties  of  his  soul  came.  Peace 
might  have  left  hidden  forever  the  profound  and  splendid 
genius  of  the  man,  but  the  bloody  flower  of  war  was  about 
to  burst  into  bloom,  and  the  quiet,  "eccentric  "  professor  was 
to  shape  and  mould  the  great  events  of  a  mighty  period  in 
the  history  of  the  world.  Cromwell  might  have  remained  a 
brewer — Jackson  an  unknown  professor  ;  but  for  both  of 
these  iron  souls  Providence  had  decreed  and  shaped  their 
work. 


Is  1.11" K    OF    STONKWAI.l    JACKSON. 

The  year  ISO!  opened,  big  with  portents.  The  air  seemed 
to  be  tilled  with  that  mysterious  electricity  which  preludes 
revolution  and  battle.  Great  events  were  on  the  march,  and 
the  minds  of  men  were  aroused  ami  excited  ;  all  hearts  beat 
fast  with  the  ardor  of  the  time.  In  January  the  u  Star  of 
the  West"  was  feed  upon  in  Charleston  harbor,  and  .Missis- 
sippi followed  South  Carolina,  seceding  from  the  Union. 
Florida,  Alabama,  Georgia,  Louisiana  followed  in  the  same 
month",  and  military  movements  began  at  many  points.  Early 
in  February  Jefferson  Davis  was  elected  President  of  the  Con- 
federate States;  and  on  the  4th  of  March  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  inaugurated  President  of  the  United  States.  State  after 
State  seceded ;  a  permanent  Constitution  of  the  Confederate  ' 
States  was  adopted  March  11,  and  on  April  13th  Fort  Sum- 
ter surrendered  to  General  Beauregard.  From  that  moment 
the  issue  was  clearly  joined,  and  all  intelligent  minds  per- 
ceived that  it  meant  civil  war.  The  Confederate  States  ac- 
cepted it — marshalled  their  forces — organized  for  the  general 
defence — and  entered  upon  the  great  struggle  with  grave  and 
serious  hearts,  but  profound  reliance  on  that  God  of  Hosts 
who  gives  not  the  battle  to  the  strong  or  the  race  to  the  swift, 
but  upholds  the  righteous  cause  against  all  assailants,  working 
its  deliverance. 

Up  to  the  17th  April  the  galaxy  of  the  Confederate  States 
wanted  one  of  its  brightest  luminaries.  The  Southern  cross 
was  yet  without  the  central  light  which  was  to  complete  its 
glories.  Virginia,  the  soul*  of  revolution  in  the  past — the 
proud,  defiant,  chivalric  sovereignty  which  had  been  hitherto 
the  first  to  throw  down  the  gauntlet  of  resistance  to  oppres- 
sion—  Virginia,  the  mother  of  warriors  and  statesmen,  re- 
mained inactive,  lagging  in  the  rear.  Some  day  the  causes 
of  this  phenomenon  will  be  investigated,  the  actors  in  that 
drama  delineated,  and  ''every  one  shall  have  his  own." 
Certain  is  it  that  the  beautiful  Virgin  of  the  Virginia  Shield 
hesitated   long   to  lift   the  spear  in  defence  of  }\c\  chastity. 


LIFE    oE    STONEWALL    JACKSON.  1!) 

and  it  was  not  until  a  brutal  and  insolent  foe  came  in  direct 
contact  with  her  pure  person  that  she  woke  to  the  danger,  and 
raised  her  arm.  *VW>    *v% 

The  Ordinance  of  Secession  was  passed  on  the  17th  April, 
and  the  Virginia  Convention  took  immediate  steps  to  operate 
against  the  enemy  in  the  Valley.  It  was  a  matter  of  primary 
importance  to  drive  .the  Federal  forces  from  Harper's  Ferry, 
and  secure  the  stores  there,  and  this  waff  promptly  under- 
taken. We  had  only  a  few  volunteer  troops  to  move  with 
against  the  l\  S.  regulars  ;  hut  Virginia  had  a  well-grounded 
confidence  in  the  courage  of  her  population,  and  the  event  of 
the  movement  was  looked  to  with  confidence. 

With  this  month  of  April,  1861,  again  appears  upon  the 
scene  the  young  soldier  who  had  so  greatly  distinguished 
himself  in  Mexico,  and  since  that  time  had  been  so  quietly 
pursuing  the  beaten  path  of  his  duties  at  the  Virginia  Mili- 
tary Institute.  Jackson  was  now  thirty-seven  years  of  age. 
He  was  scarcely  known  beyond  the  walls  of  the  Institute  in 
which  he  continued  to  perform  his  official  duties  with  military 
regularity,  and  if  the  outer  world  heard  of  him  at  all,  it  was 
only  through  jests  or  witticisms  directed  against  his  pecu- 
liarities of  character  aud  demeanor  by  some  of  the  students 
who,  with  the  love  of  fun  proverbial  in  their  class,  had  much 
to  say  of  the  eccentricities  and  odd  ways  of  "  Old  Tom 
Jackson."  The  universal  tendency  to  caricature  the  pecu- 
liarities of  a  man  of  origiual  genius  is  well  known — to  make 
fun  of  those  very  great  traits  which  separate  such  men  from 
the  common-place  mass  of  human  beings — and  Jackson  re- 
ceived more  thnn  a  fair  share  of  this  undesirable  attention  on 
the  part  of  his  studeuts.  He  was  a  martinet  in  the  perform- 
ance of  his  duties — administered  things  in  his  department 
"  on  a  war  footing,"  and  no  doubt  caused  the  volatile  young 
men  whom  he  taught,  to  regard  him  as  a  most  unreasonable 
aud  exacting  stickler  for  useless  military  etiquette  and  cere- 
mony.    But  he  was  conscientious  iu  this  extreme  attention  to 


20  111   I  N  I   V,    U   i.    .,   \,    K 

little  things,  and  he  was  clearly  right.  The  Institute  was  a 
•1ki-1 — its.  chief  value  con>i<t o*l  in  the  habits  of 
military  (jBjienecjfnich  it  impressed  up  .:>.  tic  ductile  rha- 
raci-i-  (if  the  youth  of  tin-  Commonwealth — and  Jackaon  no 
•I'.ulit  regarded  any  relaxtion  of  th^Tulcs  of*thc  establish" 
in* nt  as  tending  directly  to  Btrike  at  the  intentions  of  its 
founders,  and  illness.      We  have  heard  that  he 

once  con.tii  ned  to^wear  a  thick  woollen   uniform  late  ftito  the 

« miner,  ami    ulicu   asked   by    one    of  the    prof,    -  >rs  why    he 
1   so,  replied   that   he   had    seen  prescribing   that 

dress,  but  none  had  been  exhibited  to   him   directing 
ckanged.     This  was  the   source  of  some   amus<  inent   to  the 
young  gentlemen  who  had   no  idea  of  military   kk  orders  "  and 
the    implicit   obedience   which  ;i  ier  considers  it  his 

bounden  duty  to  pay  to  them.  Hut  was  not  Jackson  right  ? 
Let  the  thousands  who,  in  this  bitter  aud  arduous  struggle, 
have  been  teughi  by  hard  experience  the  necessity  of  strict, 
unquestioning  compliance  with  all  Orders,  to  the  very  letter, 
reply  to  the  question. 

Jack-on  the,-  remained  a  soldier  as  before — as  strict  in -the 
performance  of  duty,  and  as  exacting  in  regard  to  others,  as 
if  he  was  still  in  the  field.  If  is  certain,  too,  that  his  reli 
-ions  convictions  had  become  strengthened  and  established^ 
as  the  controlling  influence  of  his  lit''.  He  had  lohg  since 
become  a  ojevout  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and 
devoted  and  exemplary  Christian — looking  to 
Cod,  and  "  lifting  up  hands  ol'  prayer."  for  guidance'  in  all 
things  from  the  supreme  ruler  of  the  universe.  We  shall 
have  occasion,  subsequently,  to  S]  e  particularly  of  this 

humble  and  devoted  piety — of  the  profSjifd  submission  of 
this  great  man's  heart  to  the  will  of  his  Maker.  Never  has 
' that  unwavering^ trust  deserted  him,  in  the  gloomiest  scenes 
of  the  war;  and  in  his  lasl  moments  he  said  calmly  that  he 
had  no  rcpinings  or  regrets  for  the  loss  of  his  arm;  it  was 
God's  will,  aud  whether  his   life  was  spared   or-  not,  he  sal*- 


; 


■ 


L1FK    OP   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  21 

mitted  nimself  with   humility  and   entire   confidence  to  the 
mercy  of  his  Redeemer. 

Such  was  the  man  to  whdm  the  authorities  of  Virginia 
looked  when  war  threatened  her  frontier  and  a  stout-hearted 
leader  was  required  to  drive  back  the  enemy.  Gov.  Letcher 
will  live  forever  in  history  as  the  official  who  conferred  the 
first  military  commission  in  the  Southern  army  on  Jackson, 
lie  appoiuted.  him  Colonel,  the  Virginia  Convention  unani- 
mously approved  the  appointment,  and  Jackson  speedily  pro- 
ceeded to  Harper's  Ferry,  and  took  command  of  the  small 
"  Army  of  Observation  "  there  on  the  3d  of  May,  1861. 
Cpon  the  approach  of  this  force,  Lieut.  Jones,  commanding 
the  Federal  forces,  attempted  the  destruction  of  the  armory 
and  government  works,  and  evacuated  the  place,  which  was 
immediately  occupied  by  the  Virginia  troops. 




CHAPTER  III. 

ENGAGEMENT    AT    FALLING    WATERS. 

Jackson  remained  in  command  of  the  forces  in  the  Valley 
^uutil  May  23d,  when  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  formerly 
1  Quartermaster-General  U.  S.  Army,  and  an  officer  of  tried 
experience  and  courage,  arrived  and  took  command.  The' 
force  which  Jackson  thus  surrendered  the  command  of  to 
General  Johnston  consisted  of  nine  regiments  and  two  bat- 
talions of  infantry,  four  companies  of  artillery,  with  sixteen 
pieces  without  caissons,  harness  or  horses,  and  about  three 
hundred  cavalry.  All  were  undisciplined,  several  regiments 
without  accoutrements,  and  the  supply  of  ammunition  was 
entirely  inadequate  for  active  operations. 

But  the  character  of  the  men  who  commanded  this  volun- 
d  teer  force  was  a  sure  guaranty  that  all  defects  would  speedily 


I.I  I  I,     Hi-      -  m.NKWAJLL    .I.V<    KMi.N 


be  remedied.  Johnston  was  a  thorough  soldier,  and  had  his 
whole  heart  iu  the- cause;  Stuart,  who  commanded  the  riv- 
alry, w;u>!  characterized  by  untiring  energy,  clear  judgment, 
and  extraordinary  powers  of  raoulditf^aud  infusing  his  own 
brave  spirit  into  the  hearts  f>f  his  ni'ii ;  and  Pendleton,  who 
was  in  charge  of  the  artillery,  was  an  excellent  officer,  with  a 
complete  knowledge  of  military  matters,  derived  from  his 
early  education  at  West  I'oint.  The  deficiency  in  harness 
for  the  artillery  was  readi!\  supplied  by  the  use  of  ropca  and 
farm  gearing;  the  cavalry  were  taught  that  more  depcii 
upon  stout  hearts, 'strong  arms  and  the  t/nn  <»l  the  true  c 
Her,  than  on  the  number  or  excellence  ot  weapons;  and  into 
the  ardent  youths  of  the  infantry  was  infused  the  .-tern  cour- 
age, the  unyielding  fortitude,  the  daring,  the  obstinacy,  the 
unshrinking  nerve  of  Jackson.  With  Stuart  in  command  of 
his  cavalry,  Pendleton  in  charge  of  the  artillery,  and  Jackson 
to  lead  his  infantry  force,  General  Johnston  had  an  auspicious 
augury  of  the  splendid  results  which,  in  spite  v\'  its  small 
numbers,  the  army  would  surely  achieve.  Jackson  had  al- 
ready begun  to  mould  his  troops  into  that  impenetrable  pha- 
lanx which  stood  stern  and -unbroken  afterwards,  amid  »ci 
of  the  most  frightful  carnage,  and  whose  battle-flag,  pierc 
with  balls  and  torn  with  shell,  has  never  yet  gone  down  befo 
the  foe.  There,  in  the  Valley,  he  organized  and  gave 
character  to  that  brigade  which  afterwards  took  his  own  name 
of  "  Stonewall,"  and,  as  the  "  Stonewall  Brigade,"  is  known 
now -and  admired  for  its  unshrinking  courage  and  unsur- 
passed efficiency  throughout  the  civilized  world. 

The  pause  iu  the  storm  did  not  last  very  long.  Early  in 
June,  General  Johnston  was  advised  of  the  advance  of  Pat- 
terson with  a  heavy  force,  and  he  made  arrangements  imme- 
diately for  the  evacuation  of  Harper's  Perry.  A  glance  at 
the  map,  and  a  very  slight  knowledge  of  the  ground,  will 
exhibit  the  necessity  of  this  movement.  Harper's  Ferry  is 
uutenable  by  any  force  not  strong  enough  to  take  the  field 


ai- 
lia- 

-: 

me 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON.  'l'-\ 

against  an  invading  army  and  hold  both  sides  of  the  Petomac. 
It  is  in  a  triangle  ;  its  only  strong  position,  in  the  rear  of  the 
town,  being  exposed  to  enfilade  and  reverse  tires  from  the 
Maryland  Heights;  and  the  place  is  liable  to  be  flanked  with 
ease  by  an  enemy,  crossing  at  WiUiaufsport  or  other  point 
above — Leesbnrg  or  otlier  point  below.  General  Johnston 
had  information  from  "  the  indefatigable  Stuart,"  as  he 
styles  him,  who  observed  the  whole  river  front  with  his  cav- 
alry, from  Point  of  Rocks  to  beyond  Williamsport,  that  Pat- 
terson was  within  a  few  horns'  march  of  tlte  Potomac,  and 
McClellan  supposed  to  be  advancing,  from  Western  Virginia, 
to  form  a  junction  with  him  at  Romney;  and,  in  consequence 
of  this  intelligence,  he  wisely  determined  to  evacuate  a  posi- 
tion which  it  "  perfectly  suited  the  enemy's  views"  to 'nave 
him  occupy,  and  retire  to  Winchester,  his  true  base  of  opera- 
tions, where  all  the  great  highways  converged.  Thence  he 
could  oppose  McClellati  advancing  from  Romney  and  Patter- 
son from  Martinsburg — had  the  Valley  to  fall  back  along  if 
necessary — but,  better  than  all,  the  way  was  open  to  Keaun- 
gard,  who  might  need  his  assistance  at   Manassas.     The  new 

•s  field  oK  operations  was  chosen  with  the  eye  of  the  true  sol- 
dier— from   a  veritable  trap  General  Johnston   emerged   into 

}  -  an  open  field,  where  he  could  advance  or  retire  at  will,  free 
as  a  ranger  of  the  prairie,  to  strike  or  stand  on  the  defensive; 
and  this  new  position  he  hastened  to  occupy.  Colonel,  now 
Major-General,  A.  P.  Hill  was  dispatched  with  two  regiments 
via  Winchester  towards  Romney;  and  Johnston,  after  send- 
ing oti'  all  the  heavy  baggage  and  public  property,  destroyed 
the  bridges  over  the  Potomac,  and  fell  back  toward  Win- 
chester. A  flank  movement  from  Charlestowu  toward 
33uuker's  Hill,  a  small  town  on  the  Martinsburg  turnpike, 
frightened  General  Patterson  greatly.  That  commander  re- 
treated, and  General  Johnston  marched  to  Winchester.  He 
had  scarcely  arrived,  when  information  reached  hift  tin  t 
Patterson   was  again  advancing,  and  Jackson,  with   his  bri- 


91  LIFE    OV    STONKWALL    JACKSON. 

gadv,  was  sent  to  the  neighborhood  of  Martinsburg,  to  sup- 
port Stuart's  Cavalry.  Jackson's  orders  were  to  destroy  such 
of  the  rolling  stock  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  as 
could  nor  be  brought  off,  but,  if  the  enemy  appeared,  to 
retire  before  him  to  Winchester.  ..^ 

The  two  men  who  have  since  attracted  so  many  eyes  to 
their  great  deeds^  and  whose  friendship  remained  close  and 
warm  to  the  moment  when  one  of  them  passed  away,  were 
now  thrown  together  in  front  of  the  Federal  army — Stuart 
with  his  cavalry,  and  Jackson  with  his  infantry! — a  danger- 
ous combination,  whatever  the  force  of  the  enemy;  and  so, 
indeed,  it  proved.  Stuart,  living  in  the  saddle  and  watching 
the  enemy  with  lynx-eyed  vigilance,  suffered  no  movement  of 
Patterson's  to  escape  him,  and,  on  one  occasion,  surprised  a 
whole  company,  who  were  so  much  startled  and  alarmed  by 
the  officer's  stentorian  command  to  "Throw  down  their 
arms  !"  that  the  men.  too,  fell  on  their  faces.  Finding  the 
enemy  advancing  in  heavy  force,  Jackson,  in  obedience  to 
orders,  fetf  back  before  him.  It  has  never  been  the  habit  of 
General  Jackson,  however,  to  omit  any  opportunity  of 
striking  a  blow  at  the  enemy.  Whether  in  advancing  or 
retiring,  one  of  his  cardinal  maxims  lias  been  to  inflict  all 
the  injury  possible  upon  his  foe  ;  and  this  practice  he  inau- 
gurated at  Falling  Waters.  At  that  point  he  turned  upon 
the  heavy  column  of  Patterson,  posted  the  5th  Virginia  and 
Pendleton's  Battery  in  a  skillfully  selected  position,  and  en- 
gaged the  advance  force  of  the  Federal  army  in  an  obstinately 
contested  fight.  The  artillery  was  handled  admirably,  under 
the  direct  supervision  of  .Jackson,  and  the  5th  Virginia  fought 
like  veterans.  The  ground  was  held  stubbornly,  heavy  loss 
inflicted  on  the  enemy,  am!  the  Federals  held  completely  in 
check.  It  was  only  when  he  was  about  to  be  outflanked  that 
Jackson  slowly  retired,  bringing  off  forty-five  prisoners,  and 
scarcely  losing  a  man. 

The  engagement  at   Falling   Waters   was  the  first  which 


LIFE    OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  £3 

took  place  between  .the  two  armies,  and  the  augury  oi'  future 
success  was  auspicious.  Jackson  had  retired  in  a  way  pecu- 
liar to  himself,  had  felt  the  enemy  with  a  roughness  which 
gave  them  little  desire  for  a  repetition  of  the  ceremony,  and 
his  men  saw  that  in  their  silent  leader  they  had  to  do  with  a 
thorough  soldier,  whose  nerve  and  judgment  were  "equally 
admirable,  and  in  whose  hands  the  force  would  be  fought 
with  consummate  courage  and  skill.  Jackson  was  always 
Jackson — in  small  things  as  in  great — in  the  skirmish  as  in 
the  great  battle — and  the  same^agle  eye  which  chose  the 
ground  at  Kernatown,  Port  Republic  and  Uroveton,  ran  along 
the  thin  line  and  saw  that  all  was  right  at  Falling  Waters. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS. 

But  we  linger  too  long  amid  these  early  scenes  of  the  great 
soldier's  career.     Mightier  events  were  on  the  march,  and  the 
Federal  government  was  marshalling  its  huge  masses  to  hurl 
them  upon  the  main  body  of  the  "  rebels  "  at  Manassas.     Here 
.Jackson  was   to   display  in    their  fullest  extent  those  heroic 
qualities  of  stubborn  courage  and  dauntless  resolution  which 
characterized  him;  to  win  the  name  of  "  Stonewall"  which 
will  cling  to  him  forever  ;  and  to  arouse  that  enthusiasm  which 
i*    in  the  latter  months  of  his  life  rendered  him  the  idol  of  the 
r    popular  heart.     He  continued  to  march  and  countermarch  in 
, ■■*    front  of  Patterson,  whom  Johnston  was  never  in  a  condition 
,*    to  attack — the  Federal  force  amounting  to  about  32,000  j  un- 
til, on  the  18th  of  July,  a  dispatch  reached  Winchester,  an- 
•    nouncing  that  the  Northern  army  wTas  advancing  on  Manassas. 
"Gen.  Johnston  was  directed,  if  practicable,  to  send  his  sick  back 
to  Culpepper  Court-house,  and  go  to  Beauregard's  assistance. 


l'<>  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

The  good  judgment  shown  by  Geo.  Johnston  in  his  evaeua- 
fioo  of  Harper's  Ferry  now  became  apparent.  The  road  to 
Manassas  was  open,  and  he  speedily  took  steps  to  reinforce  the 
army  of  the  Potomac.  To  be  able  to  do  this  it  was  necessary 
firSt  to  defeat  Patterson,  or  to  elude  him.  The  latter  course 
was  chosen,  and  entrusting  the  disposition  of  the  cavalry  to 
Stuart  to  coyer  the  movement,  Johnston  left  Winchester  to  be 
defeased  by  the  militia  of  the  region  in  earthworks,  and  com- 
menced his  march  by  way  of  Ashby'<  <iap,  toward  the  Bast. 
Stuart,  postings  eordon  oLpickcts  from  Smithtield,  along  by 
Summit  Point  and  liippou  to  the  Shenandoah,  Completely 
conceded  the  change  of  base;  aud  Johnston's  little  army 
wended  its  way  toward  Manassas. 

The  valley  region  will  long  be  alive  with  the  traditions  of 
this  great  flank  movement,  and  the  spirit  exhibited  by  the 
men.  They  had  so  often  formed  line  of  battle  in  front  of  Pat-  • 
tcrson,  only  to  retire  afterwards  without  lighting,  that  the 
troops  nearly  broke  out  in  open  murmurs  against  their  com- 
mander. They  did  not  know  that  frequently,  when  his  brist- 
ling guns  threatened  the  for,  with  their  grim  muzzles  from 
every  hillock,  tlio.se  guns  were  without  a  sinate  round  of  <nh- 
munition  ;  and  that  no  one  could  be  more  disappointed  at  the 
necessity  which  existed  for  retiring  than  their  General  Now, 
however,  when  the  order  for  a  rapid  inarch  came,  the  troops 
perceived  in  the  air,  so  to  speak,  the  long  looked  for  odor  of 
battle.  They  snuffed  it  up  eagerly;  and  went  on  their  way 
actually  dancing  for  joy,  and  with  deafening  cheers.  Through 
Frederick  and  Clarke,  past  Millwood,  wading  the  Shenandoah 
aud  toiling  up  the  rough  pathway  at  Ashby's  <  Jap,  they  went 
upon  their  way,  without  ratious,  ignorant  of  their  destina- 
tion1, but  knowing  oue  thing  only,  thai  the  moment  for  acti 
had  arrived.  On  the  way  a  message  from  Beauregard  reached 
Johnston  by  an  officer  who  killed  his  horse  to  carry  it--»  , 
"  If  you  wish  to  help  me,  now  is  the  time."  Johnston  ha#- ' 
tcned  on — his  troops  half  famished,  but  "game  "  to  the  last.    # 


i 


LIFE    OF    STONKWAU.    JACKSON  27 

Stuart  drew  in  his  pickets :  slowly  put  his  little  column  iu 
motion  to  cover  the  rear,  aud  having  passed  last  through  t^e 
mountains,  pushed  on  to  the  front  again.  At  Piedmont  the 
exhausted  infantry  was  placed  upon  a  train  of  the  Manassas 

Gap  Railroad — the  cavalry  and  artillery  continuing  their 
march.  Gen.  Johnston  reached  Manassas  about  noon,  ou  the 
20th  July,  preceded  by  the  7th  and  8tb  Georgia  and  Jack- 
son's brigade; — the  President  of  the  railroad  assuring  him 
that  the  remainder  of  his  force  uiibaiked  on  the  cars  should 
arrive  during  the  day. 

T!uf  complicated  and  exciting  detail^  of  the  first  groat  bat- 
tle of  .Manassas  need  not  be  given  in  this  memoir  of  one  of  the 
actors  therein,  prominent  as  he  was  among  the  heroic  souls 
who  upon  that  day  rolled  back  the  great  tide  of  inva.-ion,  pil- 
%ge  and  rapine.  Gen.  Johnston  being  the  senior  in  rank, 
took  command  oF  the  entire  forces,  but  owing  to  (Jen.  Beau- 
regard's  superior  knowledge  of  the-  ground,  approved  all  his 
pains,  and  directed  their  execution  under  l»  can  regard's  com- 
mand. 

Jackson  with  his  brigade  was  placed  in  rear  of  (Jen.  Loug- 
streot  near  Blackburn's  Ford,  the  scene  of  the  battle  of  the 
18th.  Let  us  look  at  the  composition  of  this  force  which  was 
on  that  day  to  win  the  name  of  the  "Old  Stonewall  Brigade," 
and  niche  itself  in  history  forever,  it  consisted  of  the  2d 
Virginia,  Col.  Alleu  ;  the  4th  Virginia,  Col.  .James  L:  Preston  ; 
the  5th  Virginia,  Col.  Harper;  the  27th  Virginia,  Lieut.  Col. 
Echols;  and  the  33d  Virginia,  Col.  dimming.  It  embraced 
the  flower  of  the  young  men  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia — the 
best  and  bravest  youths  of  all  the  laud — and  was  to  show  by 
its  decimated  ranks,  and  the  entire  disappearance  finally  of 
^very  one  of  its  original  officers,  with  what  heroic  courage  it 
opposed  its  bosom  to  every  danger.  It  was  2, Gil  strong;  and 
was  on  the  morning  of  the  21st  posted,  as  we  have  said,  in  rear 
«©f  Lougstreet,  behind  the  skirting  of  pines  near  Blackburn's 
and  Mitchell's  Fords.         v  ~.^JtA  H    I  &fe 


2*  l.l  IK    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

From  tin'.-  position,  however,  Jackson  was,  at  seven  in  the 
morning,  ordered  to  move  more  to  the  left,  between  Bonh'am's 
left  and  Cocke's  right,  to  Bupport  either  in  case  tbe  enemy  at- 
tacked. He  remained  here  until  ten  or  eleven,  when  he  rapidly 
poshed  forward  with  his  brigade  t<»  Bupport  Bee,  Bartow  and 
Kvan's,  whose  ci'inniands.  exhausted  by  their  desperate  con- 
test during  the  whole  forenoon,  were  mingled  and  in  disorder. 
Taking  position  below  the  brim  of  the  plateau,  nearly  east  of 
the  Henry  house,  and  to  the  left  of  the  woods  occupied  by  the 
weary  commands  above  mentioned,  Jackson  opened  with  his 
artillery,  with  great  effect,  and  held  -the  enemy  in  checlc  until 
Gen.  Johnston  came  up,  with  (Jen.  Beauregard,  and  took  di- 
rect command  of  the;  shattered  forces,  which  he  led  in  person 
to  the  charge,  the  colors  of  the  4th  Alabama  at  his  side. 

The  presence  of  Johnston  and  Beauregard  acted  upon  the 
forces  like  a  charm.  As  they  galloped  up  and  down  the  lines, 
the  men  cheered  wildly  and  seemed  burning  to  renew  the 
the  contest.  A  new  line  of  battle. was  instantly  formed — with 
Bee  and  Evans  on  the  right ;  Jackson  iu  the  centre,  with  four 
regiments  and  thirteen  pieces  of  artillery ;  and  on  the  left, 
Gartrell,  Smith,  Falkner,  Fisher  aud  other  commanders  of 
regiments  or  battalions.  The  force  which  thus  confronted  the 
overwhelming  columns  of  the  enemy  consisted  of  about  6,500 
infantry  and  artillerists,  and  two  companies  of  Stuart's  cavalry. 
The  enemy's  force  which  now  bore  hotly  and  confidently  down 
on  the  little  band  of  Southerners,  was  by  their  own  official  hjy- 
tory  of  the  day,  20,000  infantry,  seven  companies  of  regular 
cavalry  and  twenty-four  pieces  of  improved  artillery,  most  of 
it  rifled,  while  ours  were  nearly  all  smooth  bore.  Heavy  re- 
inforcements were  held  in  reserve  by  the  Federal  commander; 
and  as  far  as  human  intelligence  could  estimate  the  future,  it 
seemed  certain  that  the  thin  line  of  Southerners  would  be  bro- 
ken aud  annihilated  by  the  mere  weight  of  their  opponents. 
But  one  serious  element  was  left  out  of  the  calculation.  The1 
cause  in  which  the  men  of  the  South  fought — and  the  character 


LIFE    OF    STOX&WALL    JACKSON.  2$ 

of  those  forces,  from  the  highest  officer  to  the  humblest  private. 
On  one  side,  the  demoniac  lust  of  spoil  and  rapine — a  mad  and 
infamous  invasion  of  a  great  people's  homes  and  firesides,  with 
"Booty  and  Beauty"  for  the  watchword:  subjugation  the 
result  aimed  at  by  their  legions.  On  the  other,  a  great  race 
fighting  in  defence  of  their  soil,  their  families — the  very  little 
ones  at  their  knees — for  freedom  and  home  and  sacred  honor. 
They  were  led  by  Johnston,  Beauregard,  Jackson — those 
noble  types  of  the  mighty  Anglo-Saxon  race  ;  and  with  such 
a  cause  and  such  leaders,  the  little  band  of  Southerners  were 
more  than  a  match  for  their  swarming  foes. 

It  was  now  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The  enemy  had 
full  p<frsessiou  of  the  plateau  upon  which  Robinson's  and  the 
Henr^^touse  were  situated.  It  was  necessary  to  drive  them 
from  it ;  aud  Gen.  Beauregard  gave  the  order  for  the  entire 
right  of  his  line,  with  the  exception  of  the  reserves,  to  ad- 
vance. The  Southerners  rushed  forward  with  wild  cheers, 
and  gained  the  plateau  in  face  of  a  tremendous  fire,  Jackson's 
brigade  piercing  the  enemy's  centre,  with  the  determined 
courage  of  veterans  and  carrying  all  before  them.  They  suf- 
fered heavily,  and  the  ground  was  strewn  with  some  of  the 
>noblest  youths  of  the  South  ,  but  the  plateau  was  recovered, 
and  the  Federal  lines  broken  and  swept  back  at  all  points. 
The  spleudid  courage  of  the  Southerners  covered  them  with 
glory;  but  their  triumph  was  short-lived.     The  enemy  threw 


>ry  ;   but  the 
ward  heavy 


forward  heavy  reinforcements — attacked  our  exha^tcd  lines: 
and  by  pure  weight  of  numbers  drove  the  Southerners  back, 
retaking  their  guns  and  recovering  all  the  ground  which  they 
had  lost. 

This  was  the  turning  point"  of  the  whole  contest.  If  the 
enemy  were  left  iu  possession  of  this  vantage  ground  thus 
gained  the  struggle  was  over,  and  nothing  remained  for  Beau- 
regard but  to  withdraw  his  shattered  and  defeated  columns  in 
th»best  order  possible  before  their  victorious  assailants.  But 
■uch  a  thought  never  entered  the  brain  of  that  great  soldier 


16  LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   .IACKS02I. 

or  his  comrades.  It  was  (t  do  or  die" — victory  or  death  ;  and 
the  broken  lines  were  again  matBhalled  for  a  desperate  ami 
final  struggle.  Just  as  Beauregard  had  ordered  forward  his 
entire  line,  including  all  his  reserves,  and  galloping  forward, 
had  taken  command  of  them  in  person,  reinforcements  pushed 
forward  by  Johnston  appeared  upon  the  field,  and  a  general 
attack  of  the  whole  force  was  made  all  along  the  line.  The 
fighting  which  ensued  was  desperate — terrific.  All  thought 
but  victory  see/ned  to  he  discarded  by  the  Southerners,  and 
they  charged  madly  over  piles  of  dead,  with  a  vigor  and  des- 
peration which  no  opponents  could  resist.  Jackson  was  every- 
where in  the  thickest  of  the  fight,  cheering  on  his  noble  bri- 
grade,  and  holding  it  steady  under  the  terrific  fire  which 
mowed  down  whole  ranks  of  them  and  their  comrades.  A 
more  desperate  struggle  has  perhaps  never  occurred  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world  than  that  which  took  place  on  that  field  near 
Manassas,  between  the  hours  of  half-past  two  and  fouro'clock, 
on  the  21st  of  July,  1801 — and  the  occasion  was  one  to  try 
the  nerves  of  the  stoutest  heart  that  ever  beat.  The  Southern 
leaders  saw  with  irrepressible  anguish  the  exhaustion  of  Jthc 
troops,  the  waning  fortunes  of  the  day,  and  the  countless  re- 
serves which  the  enemy  hurled  incessantly  upon  their  thin  I 
and  weary  lines.  Among  these  was  the  heroic  (leu.  Bee,  in 
command  of  the  4th  Alabama  and  some  JYIississippians  who 
were  nearly  worn  out  by  the  terrible  ordeal  through  which 
they  had  passed.  Bee  rode  up  and  down  the  line's- cheering 
on  (lie  men  and  beseeching  them  by  all  (hey  held  dear  not  to 
give  way,  when  he  mot  Jackson  and  said  in  the  bitter  des- 
pair of  his  heart,  "  General,  they  are  beating  us  back."  The 
face  ol"  the  stern  silent  soldier  betrayed  no  answering  emotion. 
The  keen  eye  glittered  for  an  instant;  the  lips  opened;  and 
in  the  curt,  peculiar  tones  of  the  speaker  he  said  :  "Sir,  we 
will  give  them  the  bayonet."  l>ec  seemed  to  gather  new  in- 
spiration from  the  words;  he  galloped  back  to  the  remnants  of 
his  command,  and  pointing  to  Jackson,  called  out  to  his  men  : 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSOlt.  N 

"  There  is  Jackson  standing  like  a  stoneioalf!     Let  m  deter- 
rmne  to  die  here,  and  we  will  conquer!     Follow  me!" 

The  words  echoed  like  a  bugle  blast  in  the  ears  of  his 
brave  troops — they  rallied ;  and  taking  the  head  of  the 
column,  Bee  charged  the  enemy;  falling  mortally  wounded  in 
the  front. 

It  was  just  at  this  time  that  General  Kirby  Smith  arrived 
with  his  fresh  troops,  which  he  had  disembarked  from  the 
cars,  and  rapidly  pushed  forward  toward  the  battle-field  ;  and 
with  his  batteries  he  opened  a  destructive  fire  upon  the  ene- 
my's right  and  centre.  At  half-past  three  the  Federal  forces 
were  driven  back  on  their  left  and  centre,  but  formed  a  new 
and  formidable  line  of  battle  in  the  shape  of  a  crescent,  from 
the  Carter  House  across  the  Turnpike  to  Chinn's  house- 
They  had  lost  heart,  however,  in  the  long  and  bloody  strug- 
gle. Their  leaders  could  not  bring  them  up  again  to  the  con- 
test. Before  the  resolute  advance  of  our.  troops,  mainly  di- 
rected against  their  right  flank  and  rear,  they  gave  ground, 
were  driven  over  the  narrow  plateau  into  the  fields  btyond, 
and  the  route  became  general.  Their  torn  and  bleeding 
columns  were  pursued  by  our  cavalry  which,  earlier  in  the 
day,  under  Colonel  Stuart,  had  made  a  splendid  charge  upon 
a  regiment  of  Zouaves,  scattering  and  riding  them  down  ; 
and  had  this  cavalry  force  been  sufficient,  but  few  of  the 
routed  forces  of  the  Federals  would  have  escaped  to  tell  the 
tale  of  their  reverses  to  the  gaping  citizens  of  Washington. 

Thus  terminated  the  hard  fought  battle  of  Manassas  in 
which  the  army  of  the  Shenandoah  gained  undying  laurels. 
Jackson's  men  had  fought  with  that  matchless  daring  which 
has  since  made  the  name  of  the  First  Brigade  immortal;  and, 
though  painfully  wounded  in  the  hand,  their  great  leader  was 
filled  with  joy  and  pride.  The  country  had  gained  a  splendid 
victory  against  enormous  odds;  and  although  he  did  not  then 
know  it,  Jackson  had  gained  a  name  with  which  he  is  forever 
inseparably  identified,     When   the  heroic  Bee  cscla.im.cd; 


•»_  L1KK    OF    STO.NEWALL    JACKSON. 

"  There  is  Jackson  standing ///v  <i  stom  wall.   Let  us  determine 

to  (lie  here,  and  wo  will  conquer/'  he  unconsciously  employed 
u  t  nn  which  thenceforth  dung  t.»  Jackson  more  closely  than 
his  baptismal  appellation.     From  that  hot  day  of  battle,  the 

leader  of  the  men  of  the  Valley  was  known  as  "  Stonewall 
Jackson" — his  command  as  the  "Stonewall  Brigade."    Many 

are  ignorant,  and  few  recall  the  fact  that  the  meat  soldier  was 
christened  "  Thomas  Jonathan,"  His  veritable  christening 
in  the  popular  heart  was  on  that  evening  of  Manassas,  when 
Bee,  about  to  surrender  his  great  soul  to  his  Maker,  baptised 
him,  amid  blood  and  fire,  u  Stonewall  Jackson." 


CHAPTER  V. 

.iackson's  farewell  to  the  old  brigade; 

Such   was  the  part  taken   by  the  thenceforward    famous 

leader  in  the  great  battle  of  Manassas.  He  had  held  a  sub- 
ordinate position  in  the  contest,  and  the  force  under  his  com- 
mand was  small ;  but  the  masterly  handling  of  his  troops, 
ami  the  obstinate  stand  which  they  made,  justified  -Jackson  in 
the  statement  which  he  proudly  made  in  taking  leave  of  them 
soon  afterwards  :  that  they  had  decided  the  fate  of  the  battle. 
The  morning  of  Jaekson's  fame  had  scarcely  dawned,  how- 
ever. He  had  secured  that  immortal  name  which  will  fore  v.  r 
characterize  him  ;  but  the  arena  had  been  too  limited  for  the 
lull  display  of  his  splendid  faculties,  and  lew  suspected  the 
existence  of  those  inexhaustible  resources  of  strategy  and 
daring  which  lay  hid  beueath  the  calm  exterior  of  the  silent 
Virginian.  The  time  was  soon  to  come,  however,  when  these 
great  faculties  would  blaze  out  before  the  eyes  of  the  World, 
surrounding  their  possessor  with  a  halo  of  almost  dazzling 
splendor,  and  when  the  deeds  of  the  man,  Stonewall  Jackson, 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    .)\<KM>\.  :))) 

would   sihg   throughout  tlie  civilized   world,  l&aking  his  very 

enemies  bear  tribute  to  the  matchless  genius  which  struck 
ana1  overwhelmed  them. 

After  the  battle  of  Manassas,  Jackson  remained  with  his 
brigade  near  Centreville  until  the  early  part  of  October,  having 
during  that  time  made  but  one  movement — in  the  direction  of 
Fairfax  Court-house,  when  Gen.  Beauregard,  by  advancing 
and  then  falling  back,  endeavored  to  draw  McClellan  out  of  his 
earthworks.  About  the  month  of  September,  Jackson,  who 
had  been  made  a  Brigadier  General  before  he  left  the  Valley, 
was  advanced  to  the-  rank  of  Major  General  and  assigned  to 
the  command  of  the  troops  in  and  around  Winchester,  then 
threatened  by  a  large  Federal  army  under  Gen.  Banks.  To 
his  great  sorrow,  the  old  First  Brigade,  which  he  had  so  long 
commanded,  was  to  stay  behind  with  the  main  army,  and 
there  took  place,  at  the  camp  of  the  brigade,  near  Centrcville; 
on  the  4th  of  October,  one  of  those  scenes  which  irresistibly 
•excite  the  deepest  emotions  of  the  heart,  and  light  up  the 
page  of  history  which  records  them. 

On  that  day  Jackson  took  leave  of  his  old  "  First  Brigade  " 
The  officers  and  men  were  drawn  up  as  though  in  line  of 
battle,  and  their  commander  appeared  in  front,  as  he  had  so 
often  appeared  before,  when  about  to  give  the  order  for  a 
charge  upon  the  enemy.  But  now,  no  enthusiasm,  no  cheers 
awaited  hjm.  All  knew  for  what  purpose  he  came,  and  the 
sorrow  which  filled  every  heart  betrayed  itself  in  the  deep 
silence  which  greeted  his  approach.  Not  a  sound  along  the 
line — not  a  hand  raised  in  greeting — not  a  murmur,  even, 
going  to  show  that  they  recognized  their  beloved  captain.  The 
bronzed  faces  were  full  of  the  deepest  dejection,  and  the  stern 
lighters  of  the  old  brigade  were  like  children  about  to  be 
separated  from  their  father. 

Jackson  approached,  and  mastering  his  emotion  by  an 'ef- 
fort, said  in  the  short  abrupt  tones  with  which  all  were  so 
familiar : 


'6\  LIFE    01     >To.\K\\  ALL   JA«  kS(»N. 

u  T  am  not  here  to  make  a  speech,  but  simply  to  say  fare- 
well. 1  first  met  you  at  Harper's  Fefry  in  the  commencement 
pf  this  war,  and  1  eanoot  take  leave  of  you  without  giving  ex- 
pression tit  my  admiration  of  your  conduct  from  that  day  to 
this — whether  on  the  march,  the  bivouac,  the  tented  field,  or 
on  the  bloody  I  Mains  of  Manassas,  where  you  gained  the  well 
deserved  reputation  of  having  decided  the  fate  of  the  battle. 
Throughout  the  broad  extent  of  country  over  which  you  have, 
marched,  by  your  respect  for  the  rights  and  the  property  of 
citizens,  you  have  shown  that  you  were  soldiers,  not  only  to 
defend,  but  able  and  willing  both  to  defend  and  protect.  You 
have  already  gained  a  brilliant  and  deservedly  high  reputation 
throughout  the  army  of  the  whole  Confederacy,  and  I  trust 
in  the  future,  by  your  deeds  on  the  field,  and  by  the  assist- 
ance of  the  same  kind  Providence  who  has  heretofore  favored 
our  cause,  you  will  gain  more  victories,  and  add  additional 
lustre  to  the  reputation  you  now  enjoy.  You  have  already 
gained  a  proud  position  in  the  future  history  of  this  our  second* 
war  of  independence.  1  shall  look  with  great  anxiety  to  your 
future  movements,  and  I  trust,  whenever  I  shall  hear  of  the 
Fjrst  Brigade  oh  the  field  of  battle  it  will  be  of  still  nobler 
deeds  achieved  and  higher  reputation  won!" 

Having  uttered  these  words  Jackson  paused  for  an  instant, 
and  his  eye  passed  slowly  along  the  line,  as  though  he  wished 
thus  to  bid  farewell  individually  to  every  old  familiar  face,  so 
often  seen  in  the  heat  of  battle,  and  so  dear  to  him.  The 
thoughts  which  crowded  upon  him  seemed  more  than  he  could 
bear — he  could  not  leave  them  A'ith  such  formal  words  only — 
and  that  iron  lip  which  had  never  trembled  in  the  hour  of 
deadliest  peril,  now  quivered.  Mastered  by  an  uncontrollable 
impulse,  the  great  soldier  rose  in  his  stirrups,  threw  the  reins 
on  the  neck  of  his  horse  with  an  emphasis  which  sent  a  thrill 
through  every  heart,  and  extending  his  arm,  added  in  to: 
of  the  deepest  feeling  : 

"  In  the  army  of  the  Shenandoah  you  were  the  First   Bri* 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON.  35 

g'ade  !  In  the  army  of  the  Potomac  you  were  the  First  Bri- 
gade !  In  the  second  corps  of  the  army  you  arc  the  First 
Brigade!  You  are  the  First  Brigade  in  the  affections  of 
your  General  ;  and  I  hope  by  your  future  deeds  and  bearing 
you  will  be  handed  down  to  posterity  as  the  First  Brigade  in 
this  our  second  war  of  independence.     Farewell ! 

As  the  last  words  echoed  in  their  ears,  and  Jackson  turned 
to  leave  them  the  long  pent  up  feeling  burst  forth.  Three 
prolonged  and  deafening  cheers  rolled  along  the  line  of  the 
old  Brigade;  and  no  sooner  had  they  died  away,  than  they 
were  renewed,  and  again  renewed.  The  calm  face  of  the  great 
leader  flushed  as  he  listened  to  that  sound,  but  he  did  not 
speak.  Waving  his  hand  in  token  of  farewell,  he  galloped 
away,  aud  the  old  brigade  deprived  of  its  beloved  chief,  re- 
turned slowly  aud  sorrowfully  tj  camp. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    WINTER    EXPEDITION    TO    feOMNEY. 

Jackson  proceeded  to  Winchester,  and  taking  command  of 
the  forces  there,  applied  himself  energetically  to  the  work  of 
organizing  the  raw  levies  from  the  surrounding  country  (Jen. 
Loriug's  command  from  Western  Virginia  was  subsequently 
assigned  to  him — aud  he  succeeded  in  regaining  his  oil  Stone- 
wall Brigade,  which  returned  to  him,  aud  went  into  camp  near 
Kernstown,  in  the  latter  days  of  November. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1862,  (fen.  Jackson  sent  out  an  ex- 
pedition to  Bath  aud  Romney,  where  the  Federal  forces  were 
committing  the  most  wanton  depredations,  and  ruling  the 
whole  region  with  a  rod  of  iron.  The  day  was  exceedingly 
bright  and  beautiful — the  air  soft  and  balmy — and  the  men 
left  behind  them  their  overcoats,  and  even  their  blankets,  ex- 


B6  LIFE    01     >TnNI-:w.\U.    JACKSOJJ 

t 

pccting  the  wagons  to  follow  and  join  theui  before   these  arti- 
cles were  needed     The  wagons  did   not  coma  up  hoWSver  ; 
and  on  the  third -day  of  the  maivh,  when,  ai'ter  winding  al 
among  byeways  and  path-  they  had   reached  luger's  ( 

•  weather  suddenly  changed,  and.  ;i  freezing  snow- 
storm came  on.      From    Cngor's    three  roads    radiate — one  to 
R  unney,  another  bo  Martinsburg,  and  a  third  to  Hath,  b 
known   ;(s   Berkeley  Springs.     The  latter  road  was  the  one 
which  Jackson  now  pursued. 

This  expedition  is  only  remarkable  for  the  great  powers  of 
endurance  which  it  betrayed  in  the  men ;  peremptory  orders 
from  the  War  Office  at  Richmond  having  arrested  his  further 
advance,  almost  before  he  had  commenced  the  execution  of 
the  design  which  he  had  in  view.  The  weather  was  really 
terrible.  Jt  has  been  truthlully  said  that  Napoleon's  passage 
of  the  Alps  scarcely  surpassed  the  march.  Rain,  snow,  hail, 
sleet,  beat  upon  the  fcroops  who  were  without  tents,  overcoats.* 
or  blankets,  as  has  been  stated  ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  bi-  ■ 
vouac  fires  many  of  the  soldiers  must  have  perished.  Subse- 
quently, from  the  close  proximity  of  the  enemy  not  even  fires 
were  allowed,  and  the  feet  of  some  of  the  men  froze  to  the 
soles  of  their  boots.  "  I  built  a  big  fire  "  says  a  gallant  young 
soldier  whose  notes  of  the  march  are  before  us,  "  and  went  to 
sleep  by  it  :  but  waked  up  about  1 1  o'clock  at  night  and* found 
the  fire  out,  and  about  three  inches  of  snow  over  me.-"  He, 
like  the  rest,  had  left  his  blankets,  and  "this  winding  sheet 
COVered  that  night  tjie  whole  slumbering  army. 

The  difficulties  of  the  march  were  fourfold  lor  the  trains. 
The  roads  were  covered  with  iee  two  inches  thick,  and  so 
thoroughly  glazed  by  the  sleet  thai  horses  and  men  kept  their 
feet  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty.  .Men  were  slipping  and 
their  g»ns  going  oft'  all  along  the  line — "thousands  fell  flat 
every  day  "  says  an  eye-witness — and  both  men  and  horses 
were  often  seriously  hurt.  The  knees  and  muzzles,  of  the 
horses  were  terribly  injured — they  were  seen  limping  along. 


vjfi:  or  stonewall  jackson.  37 

crippled  and  streaming  with  bloo  1 — but  still  Jackson  pressed 
on  Wagon  after  wagon  slid  off  and  turned  bottom  upward, 
in  spite  of  every  attempt  to  steady  them.  One  train  of  wagons 
and  artillery  took  from  daylight  until  o  P.  M.,  to  pass  a  hilly 
point — heavy  details  of  men  steadying  the  animals,  and  almost 
lifting  the  vehicles  along.  Jackson,  however  continued  his 
march,  his  plans  not  admitting  of  delay  ;  and  soon  came  upon 
the  advance  ofrthe  enemy  about  six  miles  from  Bath,  in  Mor- 
gan county.  Wow  he  had  a  sharp  skirmish,  the  Virginians, 
under  Col.  Patton,  driving  the  enemy  back,  and  capturing 
about  thirty  prisoners.  This  was  followed  up  by  an  attack 
on  the  force  which  held  possession  of  the  town,  who  were  in 
like  manner  defeated  and  driven  across  the  Potomac,  which 
they  were  forced  to  wade  on  one  of  tlm  coldests  nights  ever 
known  in  that  region.    . 

Jackson,  having  cleared  the  path  thus  far,  now  made  a 
flank  movement  in  the  direction  of  Romney  to  fall  upon  the 
Federal  force  stationed  there,  aud  committing  every  outrage 
upon  the  citizens.  His  movements  were  rapid  but  not  so 
rapid  as  those  of  the  enemy.  They  were  at  least  12,000  in 
number,  but  had  no  desire  to  meet  the  Confederates,  evacuat- 
ing Romney  and  falling  back  before  Jackson  got  within  a 
day's  march  of  the  place.  Large  supplies  were  captured  at 
Romany,  to  which  Jacksou  now  advanced,  and  the  enemy  in 
his  front  were  completely  dispersed.  It  behooved  hint  to 
guard  his  communications  however  from  attack,  and  leaving 
Gen.  Loring  at  Romney,  he  returned  with  his  old  Stonewall 
Brigade  TO  .Winchester  to  wratch  the  enelny  toward  Harper's 
Ferry. 

Such  was  the    position  of  affairs    when   the  order    above 

j.    mentioned  was  sent  to  Gen.  Loring  to  fall  back  from  Romney. 
This  he  promptly  did,  and  soon  afterward  the  enemy  were  in 

|     possession  of  Moorefleld.     The  facts  of   this   expedition  are 
little  known.     When  they  are  fully  set  forth,  as  they  doubt- 


•*»v  LIFE    OF    KTOXgWALIi    JACKSON. 

less  will  be  some  day,  tin-  movements  ami  dosltrn*  of  Jackson 
will  be  understood  and  appreciated  at  their  just  value. 

Operations  during  the  remainder  of  the  wintei  were  not  iui- 
ii.  though  Dam  Xo.  f),  on   the    Potomac,  Was  completely 
destroyed,  and  the  enemy  to  that  extent  damaged.      A  desul- 
tory warfare  of  pickets  was  kepi  up  along  the  river — both  ar- 
mies   awaiting    the    opening    of    Spring    fur    serious    military 

M 

Early  in  march  the  enemy  began  to  move,  and  Jackson  re- 
jd  information  that  they  were  about  to  attackliim  at  Win- 
chester with  an  overwhelming  force.  Shields  soon  afterwards 
advanced  and  Jackson  offered  battle  to  his  advance  force  on 
two  successive  days.  This  was,  however,  declined,  and  the 
main  body  of  the  euemy  having  come  up,  Jackson,  on  March 
11th,  evacuate^  Winchester,  slowly  falling  back  before  them. 
He  had,  as  was  usual  with  him,  secured  everything  in  the 
snape  of  public  stores,  and  none  of  the  fruits  of  his  expedi- 
tions fell  again  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Trains,  ears, 
engines  from  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  ilailroad  had  all  been  sent 
to  the  rear — and  the  men  had  been  greeted  with  the  unique 
spectacle  of  one  huge  railroad  engine  rolling  slowly  along  the 
valley  turnpike  toward  Staunton,  drawn  by  forty-two  horses. 
Nothing  was  thus  left  for  the  enemy,  pressing  now  into  Win- 
chester, and  Jackson's  little  army  Of  about  8,000  men  con- 
tinued slowly  to  retire  in  face  of  the  foe.  Ashby  with  his 
cavalry  held  the  rear,  and  obstinately  disputed  every  inch  ^i 
ground  with  the  on-pressing  enemy.  Chew's  battery  supported 
him,  and  the  roar  of  the  guns  was  the  "  lullaby  and  reveille  " 
of  the  little  army. 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON.  &) 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    BATTLE    OF    KERN8TOWN. 

Jackson  crept  slowly  along  up  the  valley,  accelerating  hia 
morions  as  he  proceeded.  But  on  the  21st  of  March  he  re- 
ceived a  dispatch  from  Aehby  stating  that  the  enemy  had 
evaluated  and  fallen  back  from  Stragburg.  His  resolution 
was  promptly  taken,  and  the  men  although  greafcly  fatigued 
with  their  long  march  were,  00  the  22d,  meed  about  and 
marched  rapidly  down  the  valley  toward  Winchester  again. 
Jackson  determined  to  press  the  enemy  and  divert  from  their 
intended  march  a  body  of  about  15,000  men,  under  General 
Sedgwick,  who  were  then  moving  by  way  of  Snicker's  Sap, 
to  join  the  Federal  force  operating  against  Cen.  Johnston; 
and  his  troops  were  accordingly  pushed  forward  with  the 
greatest  possible  rapidity  toward  Winchester. 

They  consisted  of  Ashby's  cavalry,  which,  with  Chew's 
battery,  already  held  the  front — Col.  Fulkerson's  brigade,  con- 
sisting of  the  23d  and  37th  Virginia  and  ShunSaker's  battery ; 
JJrigadier-Geueral  Garnett's  brigade^  consisting  of  the  2d.  4th,  __ 
5th,  27th  and  33d  Virginia,  (the  "old  Stonewall  Brigtfip,") 
and  McLaughlin's,  Carpenter's  and  Waters'  batteries;  Col. 
Burks'  brigade,  consisting  of  tlu2  21st,  42d  and  48th  Virginia, 
and  tne  1st  battalion  Virginia  regulars  and  Marye's  battery. 
All  the  regiments  except  the  48th,  which  was  the  rear  guard, 
arrived  within  a  mile  or  two" of  Kerns  town,  a  place  about  two 
miles  south  of  Winchester,  by  two  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of 
ihe  23d  of  March,  and  bivouacked  there  that  night. 

During  the  march  information  had  reached  Gen.  Jackson 
from  a  reliable  source,  that  the  enemy  were  sending  off  their 
stores  and  troops  from  Winchester ;  and,  after  arriving  near 
Kernstowu,  he  learned  from  a  source  which  had  been  remark- 


40  \AVK    OF    STONEWALL    JACK.  SON, 

able  for  reliability,  thai  the  Federal  force  of  infantry  at  Win* 
cb<  ster  did  not  exceed  four  regiments.  A  large  body  <>f  the 
enemy  was  leaving  the  valley  and  had  already  reached  Cas- 
tleman'a  Ferry  (leading  to  Snicker's  Gap)  on  the  Shenandoah. 
Though  it  was  very  d<  sirable  to  present  the  enemy  from  leav- 
ing the  valley,  Gen.  Jackson  deemed  it  best  not  to  attack  un- 
til the  morning  ;  but  subsequently  ascertaining  that  the  enemy 
had  a  position  from  which  h\<  forces  could  be  seen,  he  con- 
clude that  it  would  be  dangerous  to  postpone  it  until  the  next 
day,  as  reinforcements  might  be  brought  up  during  the  night. 

After  ascertaining  that  the  troops,  part  of  which  had  marched 
more  than  fourteen  miles  since  dawn,  and  Garnett's  and 
Burks'  brigades,  which  had  made  a  forced  march  of  nearly 
twenty-five  miles  on  the  previous  day,  were  in  good  spirits  at 
the  prospect  of  meeting  the  enemy,  Gen.  Jackson  determined 
to  advance  at  once. 

Leaving  Col.  Asbby  with  his  command  on  the  valley  turn- 
pike, with  Col.  Burks1  brigade  as  a  support  to  the  batteries 
and  also  to  act  as  a  reserve,  the  General  moved  with  one  piece 
of  Carpenter's  battery  and  Col.  Fulkerson's  brigade,  supported 
by  <!en.  Garnett's  to  the  left,  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
a  commanding  position  on  the  enemy's  right,  and,  thus  turn- 
ing him  by  that  flank,  force  him  back  from  his  strong  po- 
sition in  front  which  prevented  a  direct  advance.  Soon  after 
Carpenter  brought  up  his  other  pieces,  McLaughlin's  and 
"Waters'  batteries  also  came  forward  ;  the  eminence  was 
reached;  and  the  three  batteries  under  their  respective  Cap- 
tains commenced  playing  upon  the  enemy  whose  position  was 
now  commanded  Jackson  continued  to  advance  his  artillery, 
keeping  up  a  continuous  fire  upon  the  enemy  on  his  right — 
whilst  Col.  Echols  with  his  regiment,  the  27th7  with  its  skir- 
misher- thrown  forward,  kept  in  advance,  and  opened  the  in- 
fantry engagement,  supported  by  the  21st,  under  Col.  Patton, 
no  other  regiment  of  Gen.  Garnett's  command  having  come 
up.     Well  did  these  two  regiments  do  their  duty,  driving  back 


LIFE   OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON  41 

the  enemy  twice  in  quick  succession  A  severe  wound  com- 
pelling the  noble  leader  of  the  27th  to  leave  the  field,  the  com- 
mand devolved  upon  the  Lieut.  Colonel,  the  dauntless  Grigsby, 
whose  officers  and  men  behaved  admirably. 

Col  Fulkerson  having  advanced  his  brigade,  consisting  of 
the  23d  and  37th,  respectively  under  the  command  of  Col. 
Taliaferro  and  Lieut.  Col.  Carson,  to  the  left  of  Col.  Echols, 
judiciously  posted  it  behind  a  stone  wall,  toward  which  the 
enemy  were  rapidly  advancing,  and  opened  a  destructive  fire 
which  drove  back  the  Federal-  forces  in  great  disorder,  after 
sustaining  a  heavy  loss,  and  leaving  the  colors  of  one  of  their 
regiments  upon  the  field.  This  part  of  the  enemy's  routed 
troops  having,  to  Mime  extent,  rallied  in  another  position,  were 
also  driven  from  this  by  Col.  Fulkerson.  Soon  after  the  27th 
had  been  engagad,  (Jen.  Garnett,  with  the  2d,  4th  and  33d 
Virginia,  commanded  respectively  Cy  Col.  Allen,  Lieut.  Col. 
Ronald  and  Col.  Cummings,  moved  forward  and  joined  in  the 
battle  which  now  became  general.  The  1st  Virginia  bat- 
talion, P.  A.  C.  S.,  under  ('apt.  Bridgford,  though  it  unfortu- 
nately became  separated  in  advancing,  was  in  the  engage- 
ment;  and  from  near  five  to  half-past  six  P.  M.,  there  was 
almost  a  continuous  roar  of  musketry,  the  enemy's  repulsed 
regiments  being  replaced  by  fresh  ones  from  his  large  re- 
serves. As  the  ammunition  of  some  of  the  Confederate  troops 
became  exhausted,  noble  instances  were  seen  of  their  borrow- 
ing from  comrades,  by  whose  sides  tiny  continued  to  "fight, 
as  though  resolved  to  die  rather  than  give  way.  The  troops 
were  lighting  under  great  disadvantages,  but  it  was  uufovtu- 
Ottte  that  Gen.  Cawjett  ordered  his  men  to  fail  back,  as  the 
enemy's  advance  would  otherwise  have  beeu  retarded,  and  an 
opportunity  afforded  the  reserves  to  come  up  and  take  part  iu 
tlie  engagement.  The  advance  oi  the  enemy,  consequent  upon 
this  movement,  enabled  them  to  turn  Fulkerson's  right  and 
force  him  to  fall  back — but  the  presence  of  General  Jacksou 
soon   counteracted  this   dangerous  state  of  things.      The  5th 


42  l.il'K   OF    BTONKWALL   JA0K8ON. 

Virginia  was  assigned  a  position  which  it  held  until  the  arrival 
lone!  BuTks,with  the  42.1,  under  Lieut.  Col  Langhorne. 
Col.  Burks  and  the  officers  rod  men  of  the  I2d  proved  them- 
rthy  of  the  cause  which  they  were  defending,  by  the 
spirit  with  which  this  regiment  took  and  held  its  position  un- 
til its  U  i't  was  turned  by  th  \  enemy,  pressing  upon  the  5th  as 
it  f.  11  back  Col.  John  Campbell  was  rapidly  advancing  with 
his  regiment  to  take  part  in  the  struggle;  but  night  and  an 
indisposition  on  the  pari  of  the  enemy  to  press  Further  had 
terminated  the  battle  whieh  had  commenced  about  4  o'clock 
in  th  d.     Leaving  A.shby  in  front.  Gen.  .Jackson  fell 

back  v.:<h  th<   remainder  of  ins  command  to  the  wagons,  and 
bivouacked  lor  the  night. 

'1  lie  artillery  had  played  its  part  well  in  the  battle,  but  we 
lost  two  pieces — one  belonging  to  McLaughlin's,  the  other  to 
Waters'  battery;  the  former  from  having  upset  when  hard 
pressed  by  the  enemy,  and  the  latter  from  having  its  horses 
killed  when  on  the  eve  of  leaving  the  held  which  it  had  so 
'well  swept  v\ith  grape  as  to  have  driven  back  the  enemy  from 
a  part  of  it,  over  which  he  was  pr<  ssing  about  the  close  of  the 
battle.  During  the  engagement  Col.  Ashby,  with  a  portion 
of  his  command,  including  Chew's  battery,  remained  on  the 
Confederate  right,  and  not  only  protected  the  rear  in  the  vi- 
cinity  of  the  Valley  Turnpike,  but  also  threatened  the  enemy's 
front  and  left.  A-hbv  fully  sustained  his  high  reputation  by 
the  aWe  disch  irge  "I*  the  important  trust  confided  to  him  by 
.Jackson. 

Owing  to  the  exhausting  march  which  the  infantry  had 
made  Bince  the  morning  of  the  day  previous  to  the  battle — 
between  thirty  five  and  forty  miles — many  of  them  were  left 
behind.  Jackson's  army,  present  on  the  evening  of  the  bat- 
tle, consisted  of  3,087  infantry,  of  which  2,742  were  engaged, 
and  27  pieces  oi  artillery,  of  which  18  were  engaged.  Owing 
to  the  recent  heavy  duty  and  the  extent  of  country  to  be  pick- 
eted, only  21H)  cavalry  were  present  to  take  part  in  the  en- 


LIFE    OF    SLO.XEWALL    JACKSON.  4.*> 

gagement.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  Federal  infantry 
on  the  field  numbered  over  11,000,  of  which  probably  over. 
8,000  were  engaged.  Their  artillery  engaged  equalled  or 
exceeded  ours,  and  their  cavalry  force  was  larger.  Our  loss 
was  80  killed,  342  wounded.  A  few  days  after  the  battle  a 
Federal  officer  stated  that  their  loss  in  killed  was  418.  Their 
wounded,  upon  the  supposition  that  they  bore  the  same  rela- 
tion to  their  killed  as  ours,  must  haw  been  such  as  to  have 
made  their  total  Loss  move  than  three  times  that  of*  the  Con- 
federates. The  wounded  of  Jackson's  many  received  that  care 
and  attention  from  the  noble  women  of  Winchester  which  they 
knew  so  well  Irow  to  give,  and  the  dead  were  buried  by  the 
loyal  citizens  of  the  town.  The  hospitalities  of  Baltimoreans 
relieved  the  wants  of  the  captured. 

Though  the  battle  of  Kernstowu  did  not  enable  Jackson  to 
recover  possession  of  Winchester,  yet  the  more  important  ob- 
ject at  the  moment — that  of  calling  back  troops  that  were 
leaving  the  valley,  and  thus  preventing  a  junction  of  Banks' 
command  with  other  forces,  was  fully  accomplished  ;  and  a 
heavv  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  inflicted  upon  an  enemy 
greatly  the  superior  of  Jackson  in  numbers.  Thus,  though 
the  field  remained  in  possession  of  the  enemy,  all  the  most  es- 
sential fruits  of  the  battle  remained  in  the  hands  of  the 
Confederates. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    BATTLE    OP    M'DOWELL. 

After  the  battle  of  Kernstown,  Gen.  Jackson  retreated  in 
the  direction  of  Harrisonburg.  His  rear  guard,  comprising 
Ashby's  cavalry,  Capt.  Chew's  battery,  and  from  time  To  time 
other  forces,  was  placed  under  the  direction  of  Col.  Tu/ner 


II  1,11'K    m    6TONIWALL   JA0K80W. 

Ashby,  an  officer  whose  judgment,  coolness,  and  courage,  env 
iiently  qualified  hitii  for  this  delicate  and  important  trust. 

Although  pursued  l»y  a  greatly  superior  force  under  Banks, 
Jackson  halted  for  more  than  a  fortnight  in  the  vicinity  of 
Mount  Jackson.  After  reaching  Harrisonburg  he  turned  to- 
ward the  Blue  Ridge,  and  on  April  19th.  crossed  the  South 
Fork  of  the  Shenandoah,  and  took  position  between  that  river 
and  Swift  Hun  (lap.  in  Elk  Bun  Valley.  Gen.  Ewell  having 
been  directed  to  join  the  main  body,  left  the  vicinity  of  Gor- 
.die,  and  on  April  30th  arrived  with  his  division  on  the 
West  of  the  Blue  Ridge. 

The  main  body  of  Bank-;  pursuing  army  ditl  not  proceed 
further  south  than  the  vicinity  of  Harrisonburg )  hut  a  con- 
siderable force  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Milroy  was  moving 
toward  Staunton  from  the  direction  of  Monterey — and, as  Gen. 
Jackson  was  informed,  on  good  authority,  part  of  it  had  already 
crossed  to  the  Bast  of  the  Shenandoah  Mountain,  and  was  en- 
camped not  far  from  the  Harrisonburg  and  Warm  Spring* 
Turnpike.  The  positions  of  the  two  Federal  armies  were 
now  such  that  if  left  unmolested,  they  could  readily  form  a 
junction  on  the  road  just  named,  and  move  with  their 
united  forces  against  Staunton. 

At  this  time  Gen.  Edward  Johnson,  with  his  troops,  was 
near  Buffalo  Gap,  west  of  Staunton;  so  that  if  the  enemy  was 
allowed  to  effect  a  junction  it  would  probably  be  followed,  not 
only  by  the  seizure  of  a  point  so  important  as  Staunton,  but 
must  compel  Gen.  Johnson  to' abandon  his  position,  and  might 
succeed  in  placing  the  enemy  between  him  and  Jackson.  To 
avoid  these  results,  den.  Jackson  determined,  if  practicable, 
after  strengthening  his  own  division  by  a  union  with  John- 
sou'.:,  iirst  to  strike  at  Milroy,  and  then  to  concentrate  the 
forces  of  Swell,  Johnson  and  his  own  against  Banks.  To 
carry  out  his  design  against  Milroy,  Gen.  Ewell  was  directed 
to  marelt  his  division  to  the  position  then  occupied  by  Jack- 
son,\in   Elk    Bun    Valley,  with  a   view  to  holding   banks  in 


4 

LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON.  45 

check,  while  Jackson  pushed  on  with  his  division  to  Staunton. 
These  movements  were  made.  At  Staunton  Gen.  Jackson 
found,  according  to  his  previous  arrangements,  Major-Gen. 
Smith,  of  the  Virginia  Military  Institute,  with  his  corps  of 
cadets  ready  to  co-operate  with  him  in  the  defence  of  that 
portion  of  the  valley. 

On  the  morning  of  May  7th,  Q-en.  Johnson,  whose  famili- 
arity with  this  mountain  region,  and  high  qualities  as  a  sol- 
dier, admirably  fitted  him  for  the  advance,  moved  with  his 
command  in  the  direction  of  the  enemy,  followed  by  the  bri- 
gades of  Gen.  Taliaferro,  Col.  Campbell,  and  Gen.  Winder, 
Id  the  order  named.  Encountering  the  enemy's  advance  near 
i-hepoiut  where  the  Staunton  and  Parkersburg  Turnpike  in- 
tersects the  Harrisonburg  and  Warm  Springs  Turnpike,  Gen. 
Johuson  pressed  forward.  The  enemy  rapidly  retreated, 
abandoning  their  baggage  at  Uodgers'  and  other  points  east 
of  the  Shenandoah  Mountain.  After  the  advance  had  reached 
the  western  base  of  the  Shenandoah  Mountain,  the  troops  bi- 
vouacked for  the  night. 

( >n  the  following  morning  the  march  was  resumed,  Gen.  John- 
son's brigade  still  in  front.  The  head  of  the  column  was  halted 
near  the  top  of  Bull  Pasture  Mountain,  and  Gen.  Johnson,  ac- 
companied by  a  party  of  thirty  men  and  several  officers,  with 
a  view  to  ar  recounoissance  of  the  enemy's  position,  ascended 
Setlington's  Hill,  an  isolated  spur  of  the  Bull  Pasture  Moun- 
tain, on  the  left  of  the  Turnpike,  and  commanding  a  full  view 
of  the  valley  of  McDowell.  From  this  point  the  position 
and  to  some  extent  the  strength  of  the  enemy  could  be  seen. 
In  the  valley  in  which  McDowell  is  situated,  he  observed  a 
considerable  force  of  infantry.  To  the  right  on  a  height 
were  two  regiments — but  too  distant  for  an  effective  fire  to 
that  point.  Almost  a  mile  in  front  was  a  battery  supported 
by  infantry.  The  enemy  observing  the  reconnoitering  party 
sent  out  a  small  body  of  skirmishers  which  was  promptly  met 
by  the  men  with  Gen.  Johnson  and  driven  back. 

3* 


40  I.I  IK    OF    STONEWALL    .)  A  IKSON 

For  the  purpose  of  securing  the  hill,  all  of  Gen.  Johnson's 
regiments  were  sent  to  him.     The   f>2d   Virginia  being  the 

first  to  reach  the  around  was  posted  OD  the  left  as  skirmishers  ; 
and  it  was  Dot  long  before  thev  wen-  engaged  in  a  brisk  en- 
counter with  the  enemy's  skirmishers  whom  they  gallantly  re- 
pulsed Soon  after  this,  three  other  regiments  arrived  and  were 
posted  as  follows:  the  12th  Georgia  on  the  crest  of  the  hill 
and  forming  the  centre  of  the  line;  the  58th  Virginia  on  the 
left  to  support  the  52dj  and  the  44th  Virginia  on  the  right 
near  a  ravine. 

Milroy  having  been  reinforced  during  the  day  by  Gen. 
Scheuck,  determined  to  carry  the  hill  if  possdble  by  a  direct 
attack.  Advancing  his  force  along  its  western  slope,  pro- 
tected in  his  advance  by  the  character  of  the  ground,  and  the 
woods  interposed  in  front  of  the  Confederate  forces,  and  dri- 
ving our  skirmishers  before  him,  he  emerged  from  the  wood 
and  poured  a  galling  fire  into  our  right  which  was  returned, 
and  a  brisk  and  animated  contest  was  kept  up  for  some  time — 
when  the  two  remaining  regiments  of  Johnson's  brigade,  the 
25th  and  31st,  coming  up,  they  were  posted  to  the  right. 
The  fire  was  now  rapid  and  well  sustained  00  both  sides  ;  and- 
the  conflict  fierce  and  sanguinary.  In  ascending  to*  the 
crest  of  the  hill  from  the  turnpike,  the  troops  had  to  pass  to 
the  left  through  the  wood  by  a  narrow  and  rough  route.  To 
prevent  the  possibility  of  the  enemy's  advancing  along  the 
turnpike,  and  seizing  the  point  where  the  troops  left  the  road 
to  ascend  the  hill,  the  31st  Virginia  was  posted  betweeu  that 
point  and  the  town,  and  when  ordered  to  join  the  brigade  in 
action,  its  place  was  BuppHed  In  the  -\>t  \  irgink. 

The  engagement  had  now  not  only  become  general  along 
the  entire  line,  but  so  intense  that  Jackson  ordered  Gen.  Tal- 
iaferro to  the  support  of  (Jen.  Johnson.  Accordingly  the  23d 
and  37th  Virginia  were  advanced  to  lite  centre  of  the  line, 
which  was  then  held  by  the  12th  Georgia  with  heroic  gallantry  ; 
and  the  10th  Virginia  was  ordered  to  support  the  52d,  which 


LIFE    OP    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  47 

had  already  driven  the  enemy  from  the  left,  and  had  now  ad- 
vanced to  make  a  flank  movement  on  him.  At  this  time,  the 
enemy  was  pressing  forward  in  strong  force  on  Jackson's  ex- 
treme right,  with  a  view  of  flanking  that  position.  This  move- 
ment was  speedily  detected,  and  met  by  Gren.  Taliaferro's 
brigade  and  the  1  2th  Georgia  with  great  promptness.  Further 
to  check  it.  portions  of  "the  25th  and  31st  Virginia  regiments 
were  sent  to  occupy  an  elevated  piece  of  wood-land  on  our 
right  and  rear — so  situated  as  to  fully  command  the  position 
of  the  enemy.  The  brigade  commanded  by  Col.  Campbell 
coming  up  about  this  time  was,  together  with  the  10th  Vir- 
ginia, ordered  down  the  ridge  into  the  woods  to  guard  against 
movements  against  the  Confederate  right  flank,  which  they, 
in  connection   with  the  other  force,  effectually  prevented. 

The  battle  lasted  about  four  hours — fr  mi  half-past  four  iu 
the  afternoon  until  half-past  eight.  Every  attempt  by  front 
or  flank  movement  to  attain  the  crest  of  the  hill  where  our 
line  was  formed  was  signally  and  effectually  repulsed.  Finally, 
after  dark,  the  enemy  ceased  firing  and  retired.  Their  artil- 
lery, posted  on  a  hill  in  Jackson's  front,  was  active  iu  throwing 
shot  and  shell,  up  to  the  period  when  the  infantry  fight  com- 
menced ;  but,  in  consequence  of  the  great  angle  of  elevation 
at  which  they  fired,  and' the  sheltered  position  of  the  Confed- 
erates, they  inflicted  no  loss  upon  the  Southern  troops.  Jack- 
son did  not  bring  up  his  artillery;  there  being  uo  road  to  the 
rear  by  which  his  guns  could  be  withdrawn  in  case  of  disaster  ; 
and  the  prospect  of  successfully  using  them  did  not  compen- 
sate for  the  fisk. 

Gen.  Johnson,  to  whom  Jackson  entrusted  the  management 
of  the  troops  engaged,  proved  himself  eminently  worthy  of  the 
confidence  reposed  in  him  by  the  skill,  gallantry  and  presence 
of  mind  which  he  displayed  on  the  occasion.  Having  received 
a  wound  near  the  close  of  the  engagement,  which  compelled 
him  to. leave  the  field,  he  turned  over  the  command  to  Gen- 
eral Taliaferro.  Duriug  the  night  the  enemy  made  a  hur- 
ried  retreat  toward  Franklin,  in   Pendleton  county,  leaving 


48  LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACIv><).\\ 

their  dead  iipoti  tho  field.  Before  doing  so,  however,  they 
succeeded  in  destroying  most  of  tln-ir  ammunition,  camp  equip- 
age and  commissary  stores,  which  they  could  not  remove.  The 
loss  of  the  Confederates  in  the  buttle  of  McDowell  was  71 
killed,  and  390  wounded,  making  a  total  loss  of  461.  Among 
the  killed  and  wounded  were  Colonel  Gibbons,  of  the  10th 
Virginia;  Col.  Rarman,  of  the  52d;  Col.  Smith  and  Major 
Higginbotham,  of  the  25th,  and  Maj.  Campbell,  of  the  42d 
Virginia. 

To  prevent  Banks  from  reinforcing  Milroy,  Mr.  J.  Hoteh- 
kiss,  who  was  on  topographical  duty  with  the  army,  proceeded 
witli  a  party  to  blockade  the  roads  through  North  River 
aud  Dry  River  Gaps,  whilst  a  detachmcut  of  cavalry  ob- 
structed the  road  through  Brock's  Gap.  As  the  enemy  con- 
tinued to  fight  until  night,  aud  retreated  before  morning,  but 
few  of  their  number  were  captured.  Besides  Quartermaster 
and  Commissary  stores,  some  arms  and  other  Ordnance  stores 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Confederates. 

Leaving  Lieutenant-Colonel  Preston,  with  a  detachment  of 
cadets  and  a  small  body  of  cavalry,  in  charge  of  the  prisoners 
and  public  property,  Jackson,  with  the  maiiubody  of  the 
army,  preceded  by  a  body  of  cavalry  under  Cfapt.  Sheets,  pur- 
sued the  retreating  enemy  to  the  vicinity  of  Franklin — but 
succeeded  in  capturing  only  a  few  prisoners  and  -tores  along 
the  line  of  march.  The  junction  between  Banks  and  Milroy 
having  been  prevented,  and  becoming  satisfied  of  the  imprac- 
ticability of  capturing  the  defeated  enemy,  owing  to  the 
mountainous  character  of  the  country,  which  Was  favorable  to 
the  escape  ot  a  retreating  force,  Jackson  determined,  as  the 
enemy  had  made  another  stand  at  Franklin,  with  a  prospect 
of  being  Boon  reinforced,  that  he  would  not  attempt  to  press 
further,  but  return  to  the  open  country  of  the  Shenandoah 
Valley — hoping  to  defeat  liank>  before  he  should  receive 
reinforcements.  Accordingly,  on  Thursday,  May  15th,  the 
army,  after  Divine  service,  to  render  thanks  to  God  for  the 
victory,  began  to  retrace  its  steps, 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON,  i!) 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE    BATTLE    OF    WINCH* TEB . 


From  the  pursuit  of  Milroy  and  Schenck  towards  Frank- 
lin, General  Jackson  returned  to  McDowell  on  the  14th  of 
May.  On  the  following  day  he  crossed  the  Shenandoah 
Mountain,  and  encamped  that  night  near  the  Lebanon  White 
Sulphur  Springs.  Here  the  troops  were  halted  for  a  short 
time  after  their  fatiguing  marches,  to  enable  theni  to  attend 
Divine  service,  and  to  observe  the  fast  recommended  by  the 
Proclamation  of  President  Davis.  On  the  -17th  May  the 
march  was  resumed  toward  Harrisonburg. 

In  the  meantime,  while  the  pursuit  of  the  Federal  troops 
west  of  the  Shenandoah  Mountain  was  in  progress,  General 
Banks  had  fallen  back  to  Sfcrasburg,  which  position  it  was 
understood  he  was  fortifying.  General  Jackson  moved  from 
Harrisonburg  dotfn  the  Valley  Turnpike  to  New  Market,  in 
the  vicinity  of  which  a  junction  was  effected  with  Ewelfs 
Division,  which  had  marched  from  Elk  Hun  Valley.  Leav- 
ing the  Valley  Turnpike  at  New  Market,  General  Jackson 
marched  his  forces,  via  Luray  toward  Front  Royal,  with  the 
hope  of  being  able  to  capture  or  disperse  the  garrison  at  the 
latter  place,  and  get  in  rear  of  Banks,  or  compel  him  to  aban- 
don his  fortifications  at  Strasburg  To  conceal  this  movement 
as  far  as  possible  from  the  enemy.  General  Jackson  directed 
Brigadier-General  Ashby,  who  had  remained  in  front  of 
Banks  during  the  march  against  Milroy,  to  continue  to  hold 
that  position  until  the  following  day,  when  he  was  to  join  the 
main  body — leaving,  however,  a  covering  force  sufficient  to 
prevent  information  of  the  movement  against  Banks'  rear 
from  crossing  the  lines. 

Jackson's  command  at  this  time  embraced  Ashby's  cavalry  ; 


of)  LIFE    OF    STONhWALL   JACKM)\. 

the  1st  ("Stonewall")  Brigade,  under  Gen.  Winder;  the  2d 
Brigade,  Col.  Campbell  commanding;  the  3d  Brigade,  CoL 
Fulkerson  commanding;  the  troopj  recently  under  command 
of  Brigadier-General   Edward  Johnson;  and  the  Division  of 

(Jen.  Fwell,  comprising  the  Brigades  of  Gens.  Elzey,  Trimble 
and  Taylor;  and  the  Maryland  Line,  consisting  ol  the  1st 
.Maryland  regiment,  and  Brockenbrough's  battery,  under 
Brigadier-General  Geo.  II.  Stewart,  and  the  2d  and  6th  Ya. 

Cavalry,  under  Col.  Floumoy. 

On  Thursday,  May  'I'l,  Jackson  moved  with  his  eutire 
commaud  down  the  road  leading  from  Luray  to  Front  Royal — 
the  advance,  under  Gen.  Ewell,  bivouacking  about  ten  miles 
from  the  last  named  place.  Moving  at  dawn  on  Friday,  the 
23d,  and  diverging  to  the  right  so  as  to  fall  into  the  Gooney 
Manor  road,  Jackson  encouutered  no  opposition  until  he  came 
within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  Front  Royal — when*  about  two  in 
the  afternoon,  the  enemy's  pickets  were  encouutered  and 
driven  in  by  our  advance,  which  was  ordered  to  follow 
rapidly.  The  1st  Maryland  regiment,  supported  by  Wheat's 
Battalion  of  Louisiana  Volunteers  and  the  remainder  of  Tay- 
lor's Brigade  acting  as  a  reserve,  pushed  forward  in  gallant 
style,  charging  the  Federals,  who  made  a  spirited  resistance, 
driving  them  through  the  town  and  taking  some  prisoners. 
The  main  force  of  the  enemy  now  retijed  a  short  distance 
beyond  Front  Royal,  and  took  position  on  a  commanding 
height  to  the  right  of  the  turnpike.  From  this  point  they 
opened  rifled  artillery  upon  our  troops  as  they  advanced  be- 
yond the  town.  Col.  Crutchfield,  Chief  of  Artillery,  placed 
seme  guns  in  position  to  dislodge  them  ;  and  the  (ith  Louisiana 
was  moved  to  the  left  through  tn('  woods,  to  Hank  their  bat- 
tery. But,  in  the  meantime.  Wheat's  Battalion,  and  the  1st 
Maryland,  Col.  Bradley  F.  Johnsou,  advancing  more  directly, 
and  driving  in  their  skirmishers,  the  Federals  retreated  across 
both  forks  of  the  Shenandoah,  attempting,  in  their  retreat,  to 
burn  the  bridge  over  the   North  F'ork.     Before   they  could 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    .JACKSON.  51 

fully  accomplish  their  purpose  our  troops  were  upon' them, 
extinguished  the  flames,  and  crossed  the  river — the  enemy  iii 
full  retreat  toward  Winchester,  and  our  artillery  and  infantry 
in  pursuit.  The  cavalry,  under  Gen.  Ashby  and  Col.  Flour- 
noy,  had  crossed  the  south  fork  of  the  Shenandoah  at  Mc- 
Coy's Ford,  above  the  -enemy's  position,  for  the  purpose  of 
destroying  the  railroad  and  telegraphic  communication  be- 
tween Front  Royal  and  Strasburg;  and  also  to  cheek  the  ad- 
vance of  any  reinforcements  fr  mi  Strasburg,  or  the  retreat  of 
any  portion  of  the  enemy  in  that  direction  from  Front  Royal. 
Colonel  Flouruoy  kept  a  short  distance  west  of  that  river,  and 
having  executed  his  orders,  was  now  in  readiness  to  join  in 
pursuit  of  the  retreating  enemy.  Delayed  by  difficulties  at 
the  bridge  over  the  North  Fork,  which  the  enemy  had  made 
an  effort  to  burn,  Col.  Flournoy  pushed  on  with  four  compa- 
nies of  the  6th*  Virginia  Cavalry,  and  came  up  with  a  body  of 
Federal  troops  near  Cedarsville,  about  five  miles  from  Front 
Royal.  This  force  consisted  of  two  companies  of  cavalry,  two' 
pieces  of  artillery,  the  1st  Federal  regiment  of  Maryland  iu- 
&ntry,  and  two  companies  of  Pennsylvania  infantry,  which 
had  been  posted  there  to  cheek  our  pursuit.  Dashing  into 
the  midst  of  them,  Captain  Grimsby,  of  Company  B,  in  the 
advance,  these  four  companies  drove,  the  enemy  from  theifi 
position,  who  soon,  however,  re-formed  in  an  orchard  on  the 
right  of  the  turnpike,  when  a  second  gallant  and  decisive 
charge  being  made  upon  them,  their  cavalry  was  put  to  flight, 
their  artillery  abandoned,  and  their  infantry,  now  throwu 
into  great  coufusion,  surrendered  themselves  prisoners  of  war, 
— our  whole  loss  being  twenty-six  killed  and  wounded. 

Whilst  these  occurrences  were  in  progress,  Gen.  Ashby — 
who,  after  crossing  at  McCoy's  ford,  had  moved  with  his  com- 
mand further  to  the  West,  so  as  to  skirt  the  base  of  the  Mas- 
sinutton  mountain — met  with  a  body  of  the  enemy  posted  as  a 
guard  at  Buckton,  in  a  strong  positiou,  protected  by  the  rail- 
road embankment.     Ashby  drove  back  and  dispersed  the  en- 


IS  LIFE    <»F    STONEWALL   JACKSOIf. 

.  but  with  the  loss  of  some  of  his  most  valuable  officers  and 
linen.     Among  them  Captains  Sheets  and  Fletcher.     The  in- 
fantry and  artillery  pursued  but  a  short  distance  before  dark- 
rendered  it  necessary  to  go  into  camp. 

The  results  of  this  firs*  day's  operations,  were  the  capture 
of  about  seven  hundred  prisoners,  among  them  about  twenty 
officers,  a  complete  section  of  rifled  artillery  <  1<>  pounder  Par- 
rots) ami  a  very  large  amount  of  Quartermaster  ami  Commls- 
-,.r\  -tore-.  The  i'ruits  of  the  movement  were  not  restricted 
to  the  stores  and  prisoners  captured  Ihe  enemy's  flank  was 
turned  and  the  road  opened  to  Winchester.  In  the  event  of 
Bank's  leaving  Strasburg  he  might  escape  toward  the  Poto- 
mac, or  if  Jackson  moved  directly  to  Winchester,  he  might 
move  via  Front  Royal  toward  Washington  city  In  order  to 
watch  both  directions  and  at  the  same  time  advance  upon  him 
if  he  remained  at  Strasburg,  General  Jackson  determined 
with  the  main  body  of  the  army,  to  strike  the  turnpike  near 
Middleton;  a  village  five  miles  north  of  Strasburg  and  thirteen 
miles  south  of  Winchester. 

Accordingly,  on  the  following  morning,  General  Ashby  ad- 
vanced from  Cedarville  toward  Middleton,  supported  by  skir- 
mishers from  Taylor's  brigade,  with  Chew's  battery  aud  two 
Parrott  guns  from  the  Rockbridge  artillery,  followed  by  the 
whole  command  except  the  troops  left  under  command  of  Gen. 
Ewell  near  Cedarville.  Gen.  Ewell,  with  Trimble's  brigade, 
the  1st  Maryland,  and  the  batteries  of  Broekenbrough  and 
Courtmy,  had  instructions  to  move  toward  Winchester.  Ashby 
was  directed  to  ke"p  scouts  on  his  left  to  prevent  .Banks  from 
passing  unobserved  by  Front  ltoyal.  Prig.  (Jen.  George  H. 
Stewart,  who  was  now  temporarily  in  command  of  Ac  2d  aud 
6th  Virginia  cavalry,  had  been  previously  dispatched  to  New- 
town, a  point  further  north,  and  nine  miles  from  Winchester, 
with  instructions  to  observe  the  movements  of  the  enemy  at 
that  point,  lie  there  succeeded  in  capturing  some  prisoners 
and  several  wagons  and  ambulances,  with  arms  and  medical 


LIN    OF    STONKWALL    JACKSON.  53 

• 
stores.      He  also  advised  Gen.  Jackson  of  movements  which 

indicated  that  Banks  was  preparing  to  leave  Strasburg. 

Genera]  Jackson  accompanied  the  movement  of  the  main 
body  of  the  army  to  Middletown.  Upon  arriving  there,  he 
found  the  Valley  Turnpik  s  crowded  with  the  retreating  Fed- 
eral cavalry,  upon  which  the  batteries  of  Poague  and  (.'hew, 
with  Taylor's  infantry  promptly  opened  ;  and  in  a  few  mo- 
ments the  turnpike  which  had  just  before  teemed  with  life 
presented  a  most  appalling  spectacle  of  carnage  and  destruc- 
tion. The  road  was  literally  obstructed  with  the  mangled  and 
■onfused  mass  of  struggling  and  dying  horses  and  riders. 
The  Federal  column  was  pierced,  but  what  proportion  of  its 
strength  had  passed  North  toward  Winchester  Gen.  Jackscu 
had  then  no  means  of  knowing.  Among  the  surviving  cavalry 
the  wildest  confusion  ensued,  arid  they  scattered  in  disorder 
in  various  directions,  leaving,  however,  some  two  hundred 
prisoners,  with  their  accoutrements  in  our  hands. 

A  train  of  wagons  was  seen  disappearing  in  the  distance  to- 
ward Winchester,  and  Ashby,  with  his  cavalry,  some  artillery, 
and  a  supporting  infantry  force  from  Taylor's  brigade,  was  sent 
in  pursuit  But  a  few  moments  elapsed  before  the  Federal 
artillery,  which  had  been  cut  off  with  the  rear  of  the  column, 
opened  upon  Jackson  with  the  evident  inteation  to  cut  its 
way  through  to  Winchester.  Our  batteries  were  soon  placed 
in  position  to  return  the  fire,  and  Gen.  Taylor  was  ordered 
with  his  command  to  the  attack.  After  a  spirited  resistance, 
this  fragment  of  the  Federal  army  retreated  to  Strasburg,  and 
from  thence  made  its  way  through  the  mountains  across  the 
Potomac.  A  large  amount  of  baggage  fell  into  our  hands  at 
this  point.  Entire  regiments,  apparently  in  line  of  battle,  had 
laid  down  their  knapsacks  and  abandoned  them. 

Having  become  satisfied  that  t^e  main  body  of  Banks!  army 
had  already  passed  this  point  on  its  way  to  Winchester,  our 
troops  which  had  halted,  moved  on  in  pursuit  in  that  direction. 
The  large  number  of  wagons,  loaded  with  stores  and  abandoned 


54  I. ii  K    Of    M'ii.NKU'ALI,    JACKSON. 

by  the  enemy  between  Middletown  and  Newtown,  plainly  in- 
dicated bis  hurried  retreat 

From  the  attack  upon  Front  Royal  up  to  the  present  mo- 
ment, every  opposition  had  been  borne  down,  and  there  was 
reason  to  believe,  if  Banks  reached  Winchester  it  .would  be 
without  a  train,  if  not  without  an  army;  but,  in  the  midst  of 
b  opes,  I  Sen.  Jackson  found  that  the  infantry  and  cavalry 
under  Ashby  had  abandoned  themselves  to  pillage  to  such  an 
extent  that  their  gallant  commander  found  it  impossible  to 
continue  the  pursuit.  The  artillery  which  had  pushed  on 
with  energy  to  the  viei:iiiy  of  Newtown,  found  itself,  from  this 
discreditable  conduct,  without  a  proper  support  from  either 
infantry  or  cavalry.  The  relaxation  in  the  pursuit  was  unfor- 
tunate, as  the  enemy  was  encouraged  by  it  to  bring  up,  about 
two  hours  later,  four  pieces  of  artillery,  which  were  planted 
oo  the  northern  skirt  of  Newtown  and  opened  on  our  batteries. 
Their  fire  was  replied  to  by  Capt  Poague's  two  rifled  guns 
with  skill  and  accuracy.  When  (Jen  Jackson  overtook  the 
advance  it  was  thus  held  in  check  by  the  enemy's  artillery. 
Further  movements  were  retarded  until  nearly  dark,  when  the 
enemy  retreated  and  the  pursuit  was  renewed. 

A.>  (Jen.  Jackson  advanced  beyoud  Newtown  the  same  pro- 
fusion of  abandoned  Federal  wagons,  loaded  with  stores,  met 
his  eye,  but  he  derived  no  benefit  from  this  property,  as  the 
time  lost  during  the  disorder  and  pillage,  and  the  consequent 
delay  of  the  advance  at  Newtown,  enabled  the  ene^ry  to  make 
arrangements  for  burning  them.  Shortly  after  leaving  New- 
town the  advance  was  fired  upon  by  a  body  of  the  concealed 
enemy,  but  they  were  soon  driven  off  by  the  83d  Virginia, 
Col  Neff,  and  the  march  resumed. 

On  reaching  Bartonsville,  another  ambuscade  from  the 
right,  left  and  front  was  encountered,  and  heavy  firing  kept 
up  for  some  time.  In  repelling  this,  the  k:7th  Virginia,  Col. 
(Jrigsby;  2d  Virginia,  Col.  Allen,  and  5th  Virginia,  Col. 
Baylor,   acquitted   themselves   gallantly.      Skirmishing   con- 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON.  .).) 

tinued  during  the  night,  the  enemy  ambuscading  from  point 
to  point. 

So  important  (]id  Geo.  Jackson  deem  it  to  occupy,  before 
da\vp,  the  heights  overlooking  Winchester,  that  the  advance 
continued  to  move  forward  until  morning,  notwithstanding  the 
darkness  and  other  obstacles  to  its  progress.  The- other  troops 
were  permitted  to  halt  for  about  an  hour  during  the  night. 
In  the  meantime  Major-Genera]  Swell,  with  Trimble's  bri- 
gade, the  1st  Maryland,  and  Stewart's  cavalry,  which  had 
now  joined  him  from  Newton,  and  Brockenbrottgh's  and 
Courtney's  batteries,  was  advancing  to  Winchester  by  the 
turnpike  from  Front  Royal  to  that  place,  and  had  occupied  a 
position  about  three  miles  from  the  town,  as  early  as  ten 
o'clock  in  the  night,  and  thrown  forward  his  pickets  about  a 
mile  in  advance  of  his  position. 

As  General  Jatkson  approached  "Winchester,  soou  after 
dawn,  the  enemy's  skirmishers  were  occupying  the  hill  to  the 
South-west,  overlooking  the  towu.  He  ordered  Gen.  Winder 
to  seize  that  height  as  speedily  as  possible.  The  5th  Vir- 
ginia was  accordingly  thrown  out  in  advance  as  skirmishers, 
and  the  2d,  4th,  27th  and  33d  Virginia  (the  "  old  Stonewall 
Brigade")  being  placed  in  order  of  battle,  the  whole  line  was 
ordered  to  advance.  This  was  done  in  gallant  style,  and  the 
position  on  the  crest  secured,  thovgh  the  enemy  made  a  reso- 
lute but  unsuccessful  effort  to  dislodge  our  troops  from  so 
commanding  a  position.  Two  Parrott  guns  from  the  Rock- 
bridge artillery,  and  the  batteries  of  Carpenter  aud  Cutshaw 
were  promptly  posted  on  the  height  to  dislodge  a  battery  of 
the  enemy  which  was  playing  from  the  front  with  great  ani- 
mation and  effect  upon  the  hill.  At  this  moment,  a  body  of 
the  enemy's  sharpshooters  were 'seen  crossing  the  ridge  to 
Jackson's  left,  between  him  aud  a  battery  which  soon  opened 
an  enfilade  fire  on  our  batteries.  Poague's  guns  were  promptly 
turned  to  the  left,  which  compelled  the  infantry  to  seek 
shelter  behind  a  stone  fence,  from  which  their  fire  upon  our 


56  LIFT    01    BTONBWALL    JACKSON. 

cannoneers  uml  hones  waa-,  for  a  while,  verj  destructive.  By 
the  well  directed  guns  of  Carpenter  and  Cutshaw,  the  Federal 
battery  in  front  had  dqw  become  silenced,  bu|  the  battery  on 
the  left  still  kept  np  a  brisk  and  damaging  fire.  Withdraw* 
ing  his  battery  to  the  left  and  rear,  bo  as  to  avoid  the  exposure 
under  which  he  was  severely  suffering,  Poague  opened  his 
guns  upon  the  enfilading  battery  of  the  enemy.  He  was  also 
directed  by  Gen.  Winder  to  throw  some  solid  shot  against  the 
stone  wall,  under  the  shelter  of  which  their  sharpshooters" 
were  pouring  a  fatal  fire  into  our  ranks. 

During  these  operations,  valuable  officers  and  privates  suf- 
fered ;  among  them,  Colonel  J.  A.  Campbell,  commanding 
the  2d  Brigade,  was  wounded.  Whilst  the  enemy's  artillery 
was  playing  on  Jackson's  position,  his  infantry  moved  to  the 
left,  as  if  designing  to  §ain  possession  of  that  portion  of  the 
hill  immediately  to  the  north.  Geueral  Taylor  was  ordered 
to  advance  his  brigade  to  the  left  and  check  the  movement. 
Promptly  leaving  the  turnpike,  he  passed,  under  cover  of  the 
hill,  in  rear  of  Winder,  and  formed  his  line  of  battle  in  face 
of  a  heavy  fire  of  artillery  and  musketry  from  the  sharp- 
•  hooters,  the  10th  Virginia  infantry  taking  positiou  on  the 
left;,  and  the  2od  Virginia  on  the  right  of  his  line.  Steadily 
and  in  fine  order  mounting  the  hill,  and  there  fronting  the 
enemy  where  lie  stood  in  greatest  strength,  the  whole  line  mag- 
nificently swept  down  the  declivity  and  across  the  field, 
driving  back  the  Federal  troops,  and  bearing  back  all  oppo- 
sition before  it.  In  this  gallant  advance  all  the  troops  of 
General  Winder  joined  except  those  left  as  supports  to  the 
batteries.  This  successful  charge  being  followed^  by  the 
giving  way  of  the  whole  Federal  army,  General  Elzy,  who 
had  been  in  reserve  On  the  valley  turnpike,  was  now  ordered 
to  pursue,  and.  eagerly  uniting  in  the  general  advance,  soon 
entered  Winchester  with  the  other  troops.'  On  the  right,  the 
attack  under  General  Kwell  was  executed  with  great  skill 
and  spirit.     The  21st  North  Carolina  and  the  21st  Georgia 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON.  .5, 

gallantly  drove  back  the  advance  force  of  the  enemy ;  but 
the  2 1st  North  Carolina  becoming-  exposed  to  a  destructive 
fire  from  a  Federal  regiment  posted  behind  a  stonewall,  after 
suffering  severely  in  both  officers  and  men,  was  forced  to  fall 
back.  The  21st  Georgia  having  succeeded  in  driving  that 
regiment  from  its  shelter,  reinforced  its  brigade, 

With  the  1st  Maryland  on  his  left  and  Trimble's  Brigade 
on  his  right,  General  Ewell  now  moved  toward  the  eastern 
outskirts  of  the  town.  That  advance  was  made  about  the 
time  that  Taylor's  Brigade  was  so  gallantly  crossing  the  hill 
and  charging  toward  the  western  side  of  the  town.  This 
simultaneous  movement  on  l;oth  his  Hanks,  by  which  his  re- 
treat might  even  have  been  cut  oil,  may  account  for  the  sud- 
denness with  which  the  entire  Federal  army  g;ive  way,  and  for 
the  slight  resistance  which  it  made  in  passing  through  the 
town.  The  Federal  forces  were  now  in  full  retreat.  As 
General  Jackson's  army  passed  through  the  town  in  pursuit, 
they  were  received  with  the  most  enthusiastic  demonstrations 
of  joy  by  its  loyal  people,  who,  for  more  than  two  months,  had 
been  suffering  under  the  hateful  surveillance  and  rigors  of 
military  despotism. 

Notwithstanding  the  fatiguing  marches  and  almost  sleep- 
less nights  to  which  the  mass  of  General  Jackson's  troops  had 
been  subjected,  they  continued  to  obey  his  orders  and  press 
forward  with  alacrity.  The  Federal  forces,  upon  falling  back 
into  the  town,  preserved  their  organization  remarkably  well  ; 
but  in  passing  through  its  streets,  they  were  thrown  into 
confusion,  and  soon  after  debauching  into  the  plain  and  turn- 
pike to  Martinsburg — and  after  being  fired  upon  by  our  artil- 
lery— they  presented  the  aspect  of  a.  mass  of  disordered 
fugitives  Never  was  there  an  opportunity  where  it  was  in 
the  power  of  cavalry  to  reap  a  richer  harvest  of  the  fruits  of 
victory.  Hoping  that  his  cavalry  would  soon  come  up,  Gen- 
eral Jackson  pressed  forward  with  his  artillery  and  infantry 
for  two  hours,  his  purpose  being,  by  the  fire  of  his  artillery 


I. II T.    DI    STnNKWAU.    .lACKSON. 

to  prevent  the  reforming  of  tin-  enemy.  Aj  nothing,  how- 
.  was  heard  of  the  cavalry,  and  as  little  or  nothing  could 
be  accomplished  without  it,  in  the  exhausted  condition  of  the 
infantry — between  which  and  the  enemy  the  distance  was 
continually  increasing — General  Jackson  ordered  a  halt,  and 
issued  orders  for  going  in  to, camp  and  refreshing  the  men 
!!<•  had  seen  only  Borne  fifty  of  Ashby's  Cavalry  prior  to  the 
pillaging  scenes  of  the  previous  evening,  and  none  at  all  Bince 
an  early  hour  of  the  past  night.  The  2d  and  (>th  Virginia 
regiments  of  cavalry  were  nude-  the  command  of  Brigadier 
Grrferal  George  H.  Stewart,  of  Bwell's  command. 

After  the  pursuit  had  continued  for  Borne  distance  beyond 
tli.'  town,  and  seeing  nothing  of  the  cavalry,  General  Jack  boo 
dispatched  hi>  Aiide-dc-Oamp,  Lieutenant  Pend]eton,  to 
General  Stewart,  with  an  order  "to  move  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible, and  join  him  on  the  Martinsburg  turnpike,  and  earry 
•7HI  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy  with  vigor."  General  Stewart's 
reply  was  *;  that  be  was  ander  the  command  of  Gen'l  Ewell, 
and  the  order  ninst  come  through  him."  About  an  hour 
alter  the  halt  of  the  main  body  had  been  ordered  by  Gen- 
eral JaQbson,  Brigadier-General  George  II.  Stewart,  with 
liis  cavalry,  came  up,  and  renewing  t]iv  pursuit,  pushed  for- 
ward in  a  highly  creditable  manner,  and  succeeded  in  cap- 
turing a  number  of  prisoners )  hut  the  main  body  of  Banks' 
army  was  now  beyond  the  reach  of  successful  pursuit,  hod 
<  ffi .  ted  it-  «  scape  across  the  Potomac. 

Before  reaching  Bunker  Hill,  General  George  II.  Stewart 
was  joined  by  General  Aahby,  with  a  portion  of  his  cavalry, 
their  delay  in  coming  up  having  been  caused  by  a  movement 
mad.- 1«.  tin- l.it  to  cm  off  a  pari  of  the  enemy's  ibrce.  Th$cav- 
aliy  pushed  on  to  Martinsburg,  where  a  large  amount  of  army 
stores  were  captured;  and  there  was  reason  to  believe  that  il 
the  pursuit  on  the  part  >f  the  cavalry  had  been  prompt  and 
persevering,  but  a  small  portion  of  Banks'  army  would  have 
escaped. 


LIFK    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON.  59 

On  the  following  day — the  26th  of  May — Divine  service 
was  held  in  the  camps  of  the   Southern   army,  and   thanks 

were  rendered  to  God  for  the  success  with  which  lie  had 
blessed  their  arms,  and  his  continual  favor  implored — a  duty 
which  Gen.  Jackson  never  failed  to  impress  upon  his  troops. 
The  men  then  rested  ;  but,  on  the  28th,  movements  against 
the  enemy  were  renewed.  Early  on  the  morning  of  that  day. 
(Jen.  Winder,  in  order  to  make  a  demonstration  toward  the 
Potomac,  left  his  encampment  near  Winchester  with  the  4th, 
5th,  33d  and  27th  Virginia  regiments — the  ever-ready  "old 
brigade" — and  Carpenter's  and  Poague's  batteries,  and  took 
up  the  line  of  march  for  Charlestown  by  way  of  Summit 
Point.  When  about  four  miles  from  Charlestown,  he  re- 
ceived information  that  the  enemy  were  in  possession  of  that 
place  in  heavy  force :  \ipon  being  advised  of  which,  General 
Jackson  ordered  Ewell  with  reinforcements  to  his  support. 
Notwithstanding  the  report  of  the  large  number  of  the  enemy 
and  the  expectation  of  reinforcements  in  the  course  of  the 
day,  Gen.  Winder  moved  forward  continually  toward  Charles- 
town,  and,  as  he  emerged  from  the  wood,  less  than  a  mile 
distant  from  the  town,  he  discovered  the  enemj!  in  line  oi' 
battle,  about  fifteen  hundred  strong,  and  decided  to  attack 
them. 

(Tpon  the  appearance  of  our  troops,  they  were  fired  upon 
by  two  pieces  of  artillery.  Carpenter's  battery  Was  imme- 
diately placed  in  position,  supported  by  the  33d  Virginia, 
and  was  so  admirably  served  thai,  in  twenty  minutes,  the 
enemy  retired  in  great  disorder,  throwing  away  arms,  blankets, 
haversacks  and  accoutrements  of  every  description.  The 
pursuit  was  continued  rapidly  with  artillery  and  infantry  to 
Halitowu.  A  short  distance  beyond  that  point,  observing 
the  enemy  in  position  on  Bolivar  Heights,  Gen.  Winder* re- 
turned to  the  vicinity  of  Charlestown. 

On  the  following  day,  the  main  body  of  the  army  took 
position  near  llalltown,  and  the  2d  Virginia  was  sent  to   Lou- 


60  Lin    01    STONEWALL   JACKSuN. 

doun  Height — the   Blue  Ridge  opposite  Harper's  Ferry — to 
drive  the  enemy  out  of  the  to\fn  and  across  the  Potomac. 

Meanwhile,  <i«'n.  Jackson  had  to  guard  against  a  serious 
peril  which  menaced  him  in  the  rear.     One  portion  of  the 
ral  army  had   been  routed  and  driven  to  the  river,  but 
heavy  bodies  were  hanging  on  his  rear  and  flank  which' 
it  behooved  him  to  prepare  for.     Shields  was  moving  from 
ricksburg  on   his   right,  and    Fremont   from  the  south 
branch  of  the   Potomac,  near   lo-niney,  on  Lis  left,  with  the 
view  of  concentrating  a  heavy  force  in  his  rear  and  cutting 
off  his  retreat  up  the  Valley.     To  avoid  such  a  result,  Gen. 
•Jack-. »n,  on    the '30th    .May,  issued   orders  to  all  the  troops, 
•  t  Winder's    Brigade  and  the  cavalry,  to  return  to  Win- 
chester.    Directions   were  given   to  General   Winder  to  re- 
call the  2d  regiment  from  Loudoun*   Heights,  and,  as  Boon 
»ula  return   to  its  brigade,  to  move  with  his  com- 
mand, including  the  cavalry,  and  rejoin   the  main  body  of 
the  army. 

Before  General  Jackson  reached  Winchester,  the  enemy's 
cavalry  had  appeared  at  Front  Royal,  and  Col.  Connor,  who 
held  that  town  with  the  12th  Georgia  and  a  section  of  Rice's 
Battery?  hastily  and  iroprovidently  abandoned  the  place — 
permitting  not  only  Federal  prisoners  then  in  our  possession, 
hut  some  of  his  own  men  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
Quartermaster  and  commissary  stores,  which  Jackson  had 
captured  at  that  place,  and  estimated  at  $300,000,  were, 
7i  r,  destroyed  before  being  recaptured  by  the  enemy. 
Earlj  "i)  the  morning  of  the  31st  of  May,  the  21st  Vir- 
ginia, Col.  Cunningham  commanding,  left  Winchester  in 
charge  of  some  2,;)wi>  prisoners,  and  moved  up  the  Valley 
toward  Staunton.  He  was  followed  by  the  other  troops  then 
near  Winchester,,  which,  at  that  time,  embraced  Jackson's 
entire  command,  except  the  portion  left  with  Gen.  Winder. 
That  night  they  encamped  near  Strasburg,  and  on  the  follow- 
ing morning,  dune  1st,  (ien.    Fremont,  who  was  approaching 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  61 

by  way  of  Wardensville,  attacked  Jackson's  outpost  in  that 
direction. 

As  it  was  necessary  for  Gen.  Jackson  to  maintain  his  posi- 
tion at  Strasburg  until  Winder  arrived  with  his  command, 
Gen.  Swell  was  ordered  with  his  division  to  hold  Fremont  in 
check.  Other  troops  were  subsequently  sent  to  his  support, 
and,  after  a  spirited  resistance,  the  enemy's  advance  fell  back 
a  short  distance.  Toward  evening,  Winder  arrived — part 
of  his  brigade,  the  2d  Virginia,  having  marched  thirty-six 
miles.  The  command ,  being  thus  united  again,  the  retreat 
continued  toward  Harrisonburg. 

The  public  property  captured  in  this  expedition — at  Front 
Royal,  Winchester,  Martinsburg  and  Charlestown — was  of 
enormous  value,  and  so  large  in  quantity,  that  much  of  it 
had  to  be  abandoned  for  want  of  means  of  transportation. 
The  medical  stores  which  filled  one  of  the  largest  storehouses 
in  Winchester  were  fortunately  saved  ;  but  in  spite  of  the  ef- 
forts of  Major  Harnian,  Chief  Quartermaster,  transportation 
for  other  stores  of  countless  value  could  not  be  secured.  Most 
of  the  instruments  and  some  of  the  medicines,  urgently  needed 
at  the  time,  were  issued  to  the  surgeons — the  rest  sent  to 
Charlottesville  and  turned  over  to  a  medical  purveyor.  Two 
large  and  well  furnished  hospitals,  capable  of  accommodating 
some  700  patients,  were  found  in  the  town,  and  left  undis- 
turbed, with  all  their  stores  for  the  use  of  the  sick  and  wounded 
of  the  eucmy.  Commissary  supplies,  consisting  of  upwards  of 
100  head  of  cattle,  34,000  pounds  of  bacon,  flour,  salt,  sugar, 
coffee,  hard  bread  and  cheese,  were  turned  over  to  the  proper 
officers,  besides  large  amounts  taken  by  the  troops  and  not  ac- 
counted for.  Sutler's  stores  valued  at  £25,000,  and  for  want 
of  transportation  abandoned  to  the  troops,  were  captured. 
Quartermaster  stores  to  the  value  of  8125,185  were  secured, 
besides  an  immense  amount  destroyed.  Many  horses  were 
taken  by  the  cavalry.  Among  the  ordnance  stores  taken  and 
4 


G2  LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

removed  in  Bafety  were  9,354  small  arms  and  two  pieces  of  ar- 
tillery with  thcii 

The  official   reports  of  casualtiei  in   the  entire  command 

during  tin-  whole  expedition  shewed  a  loss  of  6S  killed,  329 
wounded  and  three  missing—  making  a  total  loss  of  400  men. 

in  addition  to  the  2.3U0  prisoners  in  Col.  Cunningham's 
charge,  there  were  foutid  in  the  hospitals  at  Winchester  about 
7"*1  sick  and  wounded  of  the  enemy,  add  at  Strasburg  Borne 
50 — making  the  total  number  who  fell  into  Jackson's  hands 
about  o,050.  Those  left  in  the  hospitals  were  paroled. 
Eight  Federal  surgeons,  attending  the  sick  and  wounded  at 
"Winchester,  were  at  first  heldVas  prisoners  of  war,  though  pa- 
roled, and  the  next  day  unconditionally  released. 

In  his  oiheial  report,  from  which  we  have  taken  the  above 
narrative,  Gen.  Jackson  declares  that  the  main  body  of  the 
troops  acted  in  a  manner  worthy  of  the  great  cause  for  which 
they  were  contending  :  and  adds,  that  as  far  as  his  knowledge 
extended,  the  battle  of  Winchester  was  u  on  our  part  a  battle 
without  a  oirau-1.  ]•." 


OHAPTEB  X. 

THE    BATTLE    OF    CROSS    KEYS. 

Jaclfeoo  had  thus  out-fought,  out-generaled-and  triumphed 
over  his  foeSj  who  were  closing  in  upon  his  rear  with  the  vain 
hope  of  intercepting  and  destroying  him.  They  did  not 
know  the  man  with  whom  they  had  to  deal — his  sleepless 
Vigilance,  the  execution  following  the  conception,  as  thunder 
docs  the  lightning — the  profound  and  unerring  military  ge- 
nius, which  was  so  much  more  than  a  match  for.  a  11  his  foes 
combined — the  eye  which  pierced  to  the  depths  of  all  their 
plans  and  devices,  and  defied  those  enemies  to  entrap  him. 


LIFE    OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  63 

He  had  accomplished  his  object,  and  he  now  set  out  on  his 
return.  Banks  was  driven  jgnomiuiously  to  the  Potomac — 
his  stores  of  countless  value  captured  or  destroyed ;  a  tre- 
mendous blow  had  teen  struck,  whose  sound  reverberated 
along  the  Valley — and  Jackson  had  no  longer  anything  to 
keep  him  there.  Converging  columns  were  closing  in  on  tie 
flanks  and  rear  of  the  weary  lion;  and  he  slowly  retired,  still 
full  of  "  fight  "  and  menace,  toward  the  safer  region  of  the 
upper  .Shenandoah,  to  renovate  his  forces  for  any  other  strug- 
gle which  should  be  necessary. 

Leaving  Strasburg  on  the  evening  of  the  1st  of  Juue,  he 
continued  to  move  up  the  Valley  Turnpike,  the  cavalry  under 
Brigadier-General  (Jeo.  II.  Stewart  bringing  up  the  rear. 

Fremont's  advance,  which  had  been  hovering  near  the 
Southern  army  during  the  day,  soon  ascertained  that  the  re- 
treat had  been  resumed,  and  moved  in  pursuit  during  the 
night.  Encountering  our  rear-guard,  they  were  challenged, 
but  replying  "Ashby's  Cavalry"  to  the  challenge,  they  ap- 
proached so  near  as  to  make  au  attack.  The  6th  Virginia 
Cavalry,  which  was  nearest  the  enemy,  were  thrown  into  con- 
fusion, and  suffered  some  loss ;  and  this  disorder  was,  to  some 
extent,  communicated  to  the  2d  Virginia  Cavalry  also.  Its 
commander,  Colouel  Munford,  soon  re-formed  it,  however, 
and  gallantly  driving  back  the  enemy,  captured  some  of  their 
number  From  information  received  respecting  Shields's 
movements,  and  from  the  fact  that  he  had  been  in  possession 
of  Front  Royal  for  more  than  forty-eight  hours  without  effect- 
ing a  junction  with  Fremont,  as  originally  designed,  Jackson 
became  apprehensive  that  he  was  moving  via  Luray,  for  the 
purpose  of  reaching  New  Market,  on  his  line  of  retreat,  be- 
fore the  Confederates  arrived  there.  To  avoid  this,  he  caused 
White  House  bridge,  upon  the  assumed  line  of  Shields's 
march,  over  the  south  fork  of  the  Shenandoah  river  to  New 
Market,  to  be  burned — and  also  Columbia  bridge,  which  was 
a  few  miles  up  the  river. 


6)  Lin   Of    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

On  the  2d  of  Juno,  the  enemy's  advance  came  within  ar- 
tillery range  of  Jjclcson'a  rear-guard,  and  commenced  shelling 
it.  tlurowing  the  cavalry  and  artillery  into  some  disorder. 
This  led  Gen.  Ashby  to  one  of  th  of  personal  heroism 

and  prompt  resource  which  strikingly  marked  his  character. 
Dismounting  from  his  horse  he  collected  from  the  road  a  small 
of  infantry  from  those  who  were  fatigued  and  straggling 
behind  their  commands,  and  posting  them  in  a  piece  of  wood 
near  the  turn]  ike,  he  awaited  the  advance  of  the  enemy'* 
■  ashing  forward  to  reap  the  fruits  of  the  panic  pro- 
duced by  the  shells.  As  they  approached  within  .easy  range, 
he  poured  such  ive  ere  into  their  ranks  as  to  empty  a 

nuuil  er  of  a  Ml  s,  and  check  their  further  pursuit  for  that 
day.  Having  transferred  the  2d  and  Oth  Virginia  Cavalry  to 
Ashby,  Jackson  from  that  time  placed  liim  in  command  of 
of  the  army.  On  the  3d  of  June,  after  the 
sd  the  bridge  over  the  Shenandoah  near  Mount 
Jackson,  Ashby  v/as  ordered  to  destroy  it,  which  he  barely 
succeeded  in  doing,  before  the  Federal  forces  reached  the  op- 
posite bank  of  the  river.  Here  Ashby 's  horse  was  killed,  and 
he  ha  -aped  with  his  life. 

Jackson  reached  Harrisonburg  at  an  early  hour  on  the 
morning  of  the  5 fell,  and  passing  beyond  that  town,  turned  to- 
ward the  East  in  the  direction  of  Port  Republic.  On  the 
6th  General  Ashby  took  position  on  the  road  between  Harri- 
sonburg and  LJ  lublic,  and -received  a  spirited  charge 
from  a  portion  of  the  en-my's  cavalry,  which  resulted  in  the 
repulse  of  the  latter,  and  the  capture  of  Colonel  AVyndham, 
with  sixty-three  others,  bearing  that  the  Federals  would 
make  a  more  serious  attack,  Ashby  called  for  infantry  sup- 
port; and  the  brigade  of  General  George  II.  Stewart  was  ac- 
cordingly ordered  forward.  In  a  short  time  the  58th  Virginia 
became  engaged  with  *a  Pennsylvania  regiment  called  the 
Bucktails,  when  Colonel  Johnson,  of  the  1st  Maryland,  com- 
ing up  in  the  hottest  period  of  the  fire,  charged  gallantly  into 


Llk'E   OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON.  00 

its  flank;  and  drove  the  enemy  with  heavy  loss  from  the  field, 
capturing  Lieutenant-Colonel  Kane,  commanding  the  regi- 
ment. In  this  skirmish  our  infantry  loss  was  17  killed,  50 
wounded,  and  three  missing.  Among  the  killed  was  the  heroic 
by.  The  name  of  this  splendid  type  of  Southern  chivalry 
will  live  as  long  as  the  history  of  this  our  great  war  for  inde- 
pendence, and  we  need  not  pause  to  delineate,  his  great  out- 
line  upon  the  crowded  canvass  of  our  subject.  It  is  there 
before  the  eyes  of  all  the  world — the  chevalier  upon  his  milk- 
white  horse — the  admired,  the  beloved,  the  peerless  partisau 
of  Virginia.  Our  feeble  praise  can  add  nothing  to  his  fa 
and  we  do  not  touch  upon  a  theme  which  demands  a  separate 
treatment.  It  may,  however,  gratify  some  of  our  readers  to 
see  the  words  of  General  Jackson — Avoids  never  before  pub- 
lished— on  t}\o  occasion  of  his  death  j  to  know,  "  under  the 
hand  and  seal"  of  the  immortal  Jackson,  what  he  thought  of 
Turner  Ashby.     "An  official  rcjfl  sneral  Jackson, 

"is  not  an  appropriate  place  for  more  than  a  passing  noti 
the  distinguished  dead;  but  the  close  relation  wl:i,:. 
Ashby  bore  to  my  command  for  most  of  the  previous  twelve 
months,  will  justify  me  in  saying  that  as  a  partisan  officer  1 
never  knew  his  superior.  His  daring  was  proverbial;  his 
powers  of  endurance  almost  incredible ;  his  tone  of  character 
heroic,  and  his  sagacity  almost  intuitive  in  divining  the  pur- 
poses and  movements  of  the  enemy." 

Such  arc  the  words   of  Jackson   upon  Ashby — one  h 
estimate  of  another.     That  epitaph  shall  remain  the  glory  of 
Ashby  "  the  heroic,"  while   the  grass   grows  and  the  water 
runs  1 ' 

The  main  bod)  of  Jackson's  command  had  now  reached  the 
vicinity  of  Port  Republic.  This  village  is  situated  in  the 
angle  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  North  and  South  rivers, 
tributaries  of  the  south  for];  of  the  Shenandoah"  Over  the 
t  and  deeper  of  these  two  streams,  the  North  river,  there 
was  a  wooden  bridge,  conuectine:  the  town  with  the  road  lead- 


(')<;  j, UK    <>K    STONEWALL   JACKSON,. 

iug  to  Harrisonburg.  Over  the  South  river  there  waS*  a 
passable  ford.  Tlie  troops  more  immediately  under  the  com- 
mand of  Jackson  were  encamped  on  the  high  ground  north 
of  the  village,  about  a  mile  from  the  river.  General  Swell 
was  some  four  miles  distant,  near  the  road  leading  from  Har- 
risonburg to  Port  Republic.  Fremont  had  arrived  with  his 
forces  in  the  vicinity  of  Harrisonburg,  and  Shields  was  moving 
up  the  casl  side  of  the  south  fork  of  the  Shenandoah,  and 
was  then  at  Conrad's  store,  some  fifteen  miles  below  Tort  Ke- 
public.  Jackson's  position  was  about  equidistant  from  both 
hostile  armies.  To  prevent  a  junction  of  the  two  Federal 
armies,  he  had  caused  the  bridge  over  the  south  fork  of  the 
Shenandoah,  at*  Conrad's  store,  to  be  destroyed. 

Intelligence  having  been  received  that  Shields  was  ad- 
vancing further  up  the  river,  a  small  cavalry  force  was  sent 
down  during  the  night  of  the  7th  to  verify  the  report  and  gain 
such  other  information  respecting  the  enemy  as  could  be  ob- 
tain* <1.  On  the  next  morning  the  cavalry  precipitately  re- 
turned, announcing  that  the  enemy  were  approaching.  The 
brigades  of  Greri.  Taliaferro  and  Gen.  Winder  were  soon  under 
arms,  and  Gen.  Jackson  ordered  them  to  occupy  positions  im- 
mediately north  of  the  bridge.  By  this  time  the  Federal  cav- 
alry, accompanied  by  artillery,  were  insight,  and  after  directing 
a  few  shots  towards  the  bridge,  they  crossed  South  river,  and 
dashing  into  the  village,  planted  one  of  their  pie:es  at  the 
southern  entrance  of  the  bridge.  In  the  meantime,  the  bat- 
teries of  Wooding,  Poague  and  Carpenter  were  being  placed 
in  position  j  and  Gen.  Taliaferro's  brigade  having  reached  the 
vicinity  of  the  bride",  was  ordered  to  charge  across,  capture 
thepiecc,  and  occupy  the  town.  Whilst  one  of  Poague's  pieces 
was  returning  the  fire  of  that  of  the  enemy  at  the  far  end  of 
the  bridge,  the  87th  Virginia,  Col.  Fulkcrson,  after  deliver- 
ing its  Hre.  gallantly  charged  over  the  bridge,  captured  the 
gun,  and,  followed  by  the  other  regiments  pf  the  brigade,  en- 
tered the  town, and  dispersed  and  drove  back  the  Federal  cav- 


I        Lll'i;   ol'   ST^NEAVAHi   .JACKSON.  67 

airy.  Another  piece  of  artillery,  with  which  the  eiymiy  had 
advanced,  was  abandoned,  and  subsequently  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Confederates.  About  this  time  a  considerable  body  of 
infantrywas  seen  advancing  up  the  same  road;  and  our  bat- 
teries opened  with  marked  effect  upon  this  force  and  the  re- 
treating cavalry.  In  a  short  time  the  infantry  followed  the 
cavalry,  falling  back  to  Lewis's,  three  miles  down  the  river, 
pursued  for  a  mile.by  our  batteries  on  the  opposite  bank,  when 
the  enemy  disappeared  in  the  woods  round  a  bend  in  the  road. 

This  attack  of  Shields  had  hardly  been  repulsed  beforo 
Kwcll  was  seriously  engaged  with  Fremont,  moving  on  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  river.  The  enemy  pushed  forward,  driving 
in  the  loth  Alabama,  Col.  Canty,  from  their  post  on  picket 
This  regiment  made  a  gallant  resistance,  which  so  far  checked 
the  advance  of  the  enemy,  as  to  afford  Gen.  Ewcll  time  for 
the  choice  of  his  position,  at  leisure.  His  ground  was  well  se- 
lected on  a  commanding  ridge,  a  rivulet  and  large  field  of  open 
ground  in  front — wood  on  both  flank's — audhisliue  iutersccted 
near  its  ceutrc  by  the  road  leadiug  to  Port  Republic.  Gen. 
Trimble's  brigade  was  posted  on  the  righ^  somewhat  in  ad- 
vance of  his  centre — the  batteries  of  Courtney,  Lusk,  Broek- 
enbrough  and  Rains  in  the  centre.  Gen.  Stewart's  brigade 
on  the  left,  and  (Jen.  Flzey's  brigade  in  rear  of  the  centre, 
and  in  positiou  to  strengthen  cither  wing.  Both  wings  were 
in  the  wood. 

About  ten  o'clock  the  enemy  threw  out  his  skirmishers  and 
shortly  afterwards  posted  his  artillery  opposite  our  own.  The 
artillery  fire  was  kept  up  with  great  animation,  on  both  sides, 
for  several  hours.  In  the  meantime  a  brigade  of  the  enemy 
advanced  under  cover  on  the  right,  occupied  by  Gen.  Trim- 
ble, who  reserved  his  fire  until  they  reached  the  crest  of  the 
hill  in  easy  range  of  his  musketry,  when  he  poured  into  them 
a  deadly  fire  from  his  whole  front,  under  which  they  fell  back. 
Observing  a  battery  about  being  posted  on  the  enemy's  left, 
half  a  mile  in  front,  Geu.  Trimble,  now  supported  by  the  13th 


(is  Of  STONEWALL  JAOKSOWj       4 

and  25thfcVirgima,  of  Klzey*s  brig^d§,  pushed  forward  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  it,  but  found  it  withdrawn  before  he  reached 
i\u.  .,,:.  havii  dime,  some  spirited  skirmishiug 

with  its  infantry  supports.  (Jen.  Trimble  had  now  aj^wnced 
morq  than  a  mile  from  his  original  position,  while  the  Federal 
advai  ground  occupied  by  them  in 

the  morning. 

.  of  the  8th  brigade  <>{'  Louisiana  troops,  having 
arrived  from  the  vicinity  of  the  bridge  at  Port  Republic,  i->- 
v, an!  which  he  had  moved  in  (lie  morning,  reported  to  Gen. 
tiwcll  about  -  P.  M.,  and  was  placed  in  rear.  Col.  Patton, 
Vith  ftie  42d  and  48th  Virginia,  and  1st  battalion  Virginia 
d,  and  with  the  remainder  of  Gen  Elzey's 
brigade  was  added  to  the  centre  and  left,  then  supposed  to  be 
threatened.  General  Kwell,  having  been  informed  that  the 
enemy,  were  moving  a  large  column  on  his  left,  did  not  advance 
at  once;  but  subsequently  ascertained  that  no  attack  was  de- 
signed by  the  foro'e  referred  to,  he  advanced,  drove  in  the  en- 
emy's skirmishers,  and  when  night  closed,  was  in  position  on 
ground  previouslyjicld  by  the  enemy. 

__ 


CHAPTER  XT. 


UATXLE   OF    TORT    REP1    B]  V 


Tin.  engager.. cut  in  will  i  al   Ewe-Il's  command   thus 

lly  known  as  the  battle  of  Cross 
Keys.      It  wa  lowed  by  a  still  more  decisive  action. 

>n  had   remained      ■     Port  Republic  during 
the  greater   ;■  iSth   of  ■■'  ig  a  renewal  of 

the  attael  nt,  however,  was  n.ale  by  Shields 

to  n  new  the  acti  m  that  day,  Jael  ■  rmined  to  take  the 

initiative  and  attack  him  on  the  following  morning      Accord- 


LIFJ   0*   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  69 

ingly,  Gen  Ewell  was  greeted  to  move  from  his  portion,  at 
an  early  hour  on  the  morning  of  the  9th,  toward  Port  Re- 
public, leaving  General  Trimble,  with  his  brigade,  supported 
by  Col.  Patton,  with  the  423  Virginia  and  the  1st  battalion 
of  regulars,  to  hold  Fremont  in  check,  with  instruotions,  if 
hard  pressed,  to  retire  across  the  North  river  and  burn  the 
bridge  in  their  rear.  Soon  after  10  o'clock,  Gen.  Trimble, 
with  the  last  of  the  Confederate  forces,  had  crossed  *the  North 
river,  and  the  bridge  was  destroyed. 

In  the  meantime,  before  five  in  the  morning,  Gen.  Winder's 
brigade  was  in  Port  Republic,  and,  having  crossed  the  south 
fork  by  a  temporary  wagon  bridge,  placed  there  for  the  pur- 
pose, was  moving  down  the  river  road  to  attack  the  forces  of 
Shields.  Advancing  a  mile  and  a  half,  he  encountered  the 
Federal  pickets  and  drove  them  in.  The  enemy  had  judi- 
ciously selected  his  position  for  defence.  Upon  a  rising 
ground  near  the  Lewis  house  he  had  planted  six  guns,  which 
commanded  the  road  from  Port  Republic  and  swept  the  pla- 
teau for  a  considerable  distance  in  frout^As  Gen.  "Winder 
moved  forward  hia  brigade,  a  rapid  anu^evere  fire  of  gjjiell 
was  opened  upon  it.  Captain  Poague,  with  two  Parrot  guns, 
was  promptly  placed  in  position,  on  the  left  of  the  road,  to 
engage,  and,  if  possible,  dislodge  the  Federal  battery.  Capt. 
Carpenter  was  sent  to  the  right  to  select  a  position  for  his 
battery,  but  finding  it  impracticable  to  drag  it  through  the 
dense  undergrowth,  it  was  brought  back  and  part  of  it  placed 
near  Poague.  The  artillery  was  well  sustained  by  our  bat- 
teries, but  it  soon  became  obvious  that  the  superiority  in  this 
arm  was  on  the  part  of  the  enemy.  Gen.  Winder,  being  now 
reinforced  by  the  7th  Louisiana,  Col.  Hays,  seeing  no  mode 
of  silencing  the  enemy's  battery  and  escaping  its  destructive 
missiles,  but  by  a  rapid  charge  and  the  capture  of  it,  advanced 
with  great  boldness  for  some  distance,  but  encountered  such 
a  heavy  fire  of  artillery  and  small  arms  as  greatly  to  disor- 
ganize his  command;  which  fell  back  in  disorder.    The  enemy 

4* 


70 

.:.  ivy    niuajk 

hich 
. 
■ 

L  Jed  by  <  ol.  Beofct,  al- 
':  to  the  v 
'.  ly  withdrawn 
which  was 

iritical  coi 

f  G 

: Din  the  front,  and 

and 

■':    oh- 

:        .   mantl 

of  the  enemy  proclaimed 

.  lied  by  a  superior 

yoiuj  aPftkc  charge  v/ls  gallantly  mad|,aud 

bat!  flireo 

•  -•■•  ;  R    i]   in  bne  ;!--^'-. "•;:::■  and  de- 

I  *.•  it.     After  holding  the 

:;.  .do   01'  ::  . .  ad- 

ftpon  hir,. 

.  I  [only 
of  al  hundred 

■  r  tiii.  <■:  '  .   Ttjjlor  fell 

k-irt  of  tin  .  which  the  captured  bat- 

tery   .  |    from    thai    point  I    his  tire 

upo^  iny,,who  succeeded  in  recapturing  ope 

of  th  \  hich  He  carried  off,  Icaviug  both  c§issoD  and 

limber.     The  enemy,  now  occupied  with  Taylor,  halted  his 
advance  to  the  front. 

Winder  made  a  renewed  effort  to  rally  his  command,  and 


liliVE    iiF    8T0X£WAI«L    JACKSON*  .  71 

ding,  with   tl :..■  7th    Louisiana  under  Penn-(the 

colonel  and  lieuien:  n  carried  from  the 

fold  wou  \,\cc<\ 

parted  .!'  battery  in  the  position  ]  y  ocaipicd 

by    it,   and   again    op<  ne  I   on    fli  i   •     who  wa 

against   F:'  lank   to  surround   him   in   th     i 

:.  gpcl  was  placet!  ii    j     Ltion  and 
did  '  from  the 

of  Broekenbrough,  (Jou  I  Rains  were  hi  tward 

"and   placed   in  position.     Whilst   these   i 
progflaflB  on  the  left  and  front,  CqJj  S<  I  his 

command,  led  them  i  ader  the  orders  of  i  the 

suppi  ,ti  ho,  pushing  I  with  th  •  . 

for  ■•  meri  -   jus 

to  fall  back,  v 
followed   P)  his   pr  .•   many  killed  and 

WOUD 

vioua  -h:; p,  h    I  I  the  town,  was  directed  to  continue 

t"  do  so  with  part  o'J    hi  ,  and  with  the  fenl 

hold  the  i  nositi  •  north  side  of  the  rivejuior 

the  .  cooperating,  if  nece-sary.  with  Gin.  Trii 

•  being  cut  off  from  the  main  body  of  the 
arrnv,  by  the  d  i  of  the  bridge  in  Ids  rear.    But  find- 

ing  the  r<  -  c  obstinate   than   he  Gen. 

Jackson   e  Taliaferro  and  Tri  .  the 

main  body.  Taliaferro  eanie  up  in  time  to  discharge  an 
effective  volley  into  the  ranks  of  the  wavering  and  r< 
enemy.  The  pursuit  was  continued  pome  five  mi!< 
the  battlefield  by  Gens.  Taliaferro  and  Winder,  with  their 
brigades  and  p  iTtions  of  the  batteries  of  Wooding  and  Caskic, 
Goi.  Munford,  with  cavalry  and  some  artillery,  advancing 
about  three  miles  beyond  the  other  trc 

The  Confederates  captured  in  the  pursuit  about  450  pri- 
soners, sonic  wagons,  one   piece  of  abandoned  artillery  and 


,2  UF£   OP    STONBWALI   JACKSON. 

1  muskets.  .Sonic  27")  wounded  were  paroled  in  the 
hospitals  near  Port  Republic. 

Whilst  the  forces  of  Shields  were  in  full  retreat  and  our 
in  pursuit,  Fremont  appeared  on  the  opposite  bank  of 
the  sooth  fork  of  the  Shenandoah  with  his  army,  and  opened 
artillery  on  our  ambulances  and  parties  engaged  in  the 
humane  labors  of  attending  to  our  dead  and  wounded  and  the 
dead  ;md  wounded  of  the  enemy.  The  next  day,  withdraw- 
ing forces,  he  retreated  down  the  Valley. 

On  the  morning  of  the  12th,  Col.  Munferd  entered  Har- 
risonvurg,  where,  in  addition  to  wagons,  medical  stores  and 
camp  equipage,  he  captured  about  200  small  arms,  aud  also 
ab"6u<  l!!">  «•{'  Fremont's  men,  many  of  them  severely  wouuded. 
The  Federal  surgeons  attending  them  were  released  and  those 
uudcr  their  care  paroled. 

In  the  battles  of  Cross  Keys  and  Port  Republic  our  loss  in 
killed,  wounded  and  missing  was  1,096,  including  the  skir- 
mish on  June  6tb  ;  also  one  piece  of  artillery.  No  estimate 
made  of  tin."  enemy's  killed  and  wounded  in  these  en- 
gagement: by  Gen  Jackson,  but  their  loss  was  unquestionably 
far  greater  than  his  own.  In  addition,  !>".")  prisoners  were 
•captured  between  the  6th  and  12th.  The  small  arms  taken 
numbered  about  1,000;  and  seven  pieces  of  artillery,  with 
caissons  and  limbers,  fell  into  our  hands. 

On  the  L2th,  Jackson  re-crossed  South  river,  and  encamped 
Cave!  "  For  the  purpose  of  rendering  thanks 
to  God  !"•  .  having  crowned  our  arms  with  success,"  says  Gen. 
Jackson,  "and  to  implore  bis  continual  favor,  Divine  service 
was  hell  in  the  army  on  the  14th."  The  army  remained 
near  Weyer's  Cave  until  the  17th,  when,  having  rested  lon^ 
for  this  command,  it  recommenced  its  march — this  time  for 
a  new  field  of  operations— oa  the  banks  of  the  Chickahominy, 


LIFE   OF   STONLWALL   JACKSON/  7o 

CHAPTER  XII. 

ILLUSTRATIONS — HOMNEY  :   KEBXSTOWX. 

We  have  presented  a  concise  narration  of  that  great  cam- 
paign of  the  Valley  upon  which  Jackson's  fame  will  rest  as 
upon  pillars  of  adamant. 

We  claim  thorough  accuracy  for  all  the  statements  in  rela- 
tion to  these  battles ;  for  the  account  is  given  almost  entirely 
in  the  words  of  General  Jackson's  official  reports.  These 
reports  arc  so  fall,  so  lucid,  so  exhaustive  of  all  the  main 
great  facts  and  outlines,  that  they  leave  little  to  be  desired  ; 
aud  in  narrating  the  events  of  this  portion  of  the  famous 
soldier's  career,  we  have  shrunk  from  interrupting  the  his- 
tory given,  so  to  speak,  under  his  own  hand  and  seal,  with 
any  comments,  additions,  or  coloring  of  our  own. 

Something,  however,  remains  to  be  said  in  relation  to  these 
occurrences — some  familiar  details  which  could  not,  with  pro- 
priety, be  given  in  the  official  reports,  may  here  be  noted 
down.  The  subject  is  not  unworthy  of  such  minute  atten- 
tion. In  relation  to  these  great  events,  every  detail,  however 
trifling,  is  valuable.  By  his  operations  in  this  magnificent 
campaign,  Jackson  will  be  mainly  estimated  in  that  "  after 
time  "  which  sums  up  and  passes  judgment  upon  all  human 
things  without  fear,  favor,  or  the  prejudices  of  the  eotempo- 
rary.  In  that  grand  career,  extending  over  barely  two  years, 
but  so  crammed  with  extraordinary  events,  the  names  of 
Kcrnstown  and  McDowell,  Winchester  and  Port  Republic, 
will  outshiue  Cold  Harbor,  Manassas,  Sharpsburg  and  Fred- 
ericksburg. In  these  latter  battles,  he  was  one  of  General 
Lee's  lieutenants,  carrying  out  the  orders  of  a  commander-in- 
chief,  under  the  eyes  of  that  commander.  In  the  Valley,  he 
was  commanding  in  the  field — far  away  from  the  capital,  and 


,1  !':•.     STONEWALL    JAC£SOX. 

ation  with  any  one.     What  he  I 
,v;;  -  due  to  brain  ^ n ;  • 

-       . 

bhink- 

.    I    .     Tradition  will 

;:   r  will  he 

■  tiful 

i 

■::t  when   he  t<  of  the   little 

General  J 

■      '  to  a 

I,  dated   Map  '  2  :  '•  If  tl 

'."     Ilia   I  :  al  once 

train  of  "  "  which   v  the  oeeu- 

nan  loah    Vrall  y  by  the  md   every 

ilty  of  his  soul  v  as   I    :  I    bo  the  i  isk  of 

Holding  it  ..  columi]  o  advance  unon 

W  ;-.     His:  e\}:;  had  this  d    '■   i  in 

view  ]  porti  ary  opera- 

bod  of  warfare  than 

"Please  pro  wrote  a  friend  on  J  39th, 

five   miles   of    telegraph    wire    from    this    point   to 
Romi 

The  paint  was  Winchei  ter,  and  designed 

watching  the   i  rt — 

able  to  communicate  promptly  with  Loring  at  tlomney,  aud 
liihs  operation  ,  or  to  move  thai  force  an  I  his  own  either 
in  :  to  the   |  ;■  i   jtlau,  or  as   •  ul  -  squont  opera- 

tions on  the  em  re,  how-   I 

<.  \i-w  frustrate  I    ;  y  1  recalling 

.  and   ho   wa  greatly   <:: 

to  go  in'''  ad    of  initiating   the 

campaign,  awuit  the  movements  of  the  Federals.     He  had 
never  deceived  himself  \\  ith  the  idea  that  if  the  enemy-had  time 


LIFE    01'    STONfcWALL    JACKSON.  fO 

to  collect  and  organise  his  force,  the  Valley  could  be  de/emhd 
ly  his.  own   little  army.      He   scenis    t<     h  prcheuded 

clearly   thai   in  the   strategy    afterwards    <  by    him 

against  General  Banks  bo   .'     sole  prospect  of  ,   That 

was  the  aggressive,  and  from   the  moment  when   this  policy 
\jrae  interdicted,  he  saw  the  coining  event — retr<     . 

''Though  the  troops  under  iny  command  arc  inadequate  to 
the  defence  of  this  district,"  he  wrote,  "yet  we  must  look 
on  the  bright  side,  trusti  a  kind   i      •  3  will  con- 

tinue to  give  its  protection  to  thi  ■:■  a  i  .'  our  Valley. 

I  regret  tliafc should  f  the 

recent  expediti  a  i  i  far  outweighing  the  losses  sustained." 

The  winter  passed  away  ;  the  <  iree  at 

leisure,  and  the  first  days  of  March  saw  heav}  columns  firmly 

sd  dirceily  in  front  of  Winchester^     Of  the  .  !t!:::;; 
the  moment,  Jackson  wrote  on  March  3d^ 

"'  My  plan  is  to  put  on  as  bold  a  front  as  possible,  and  to 
use  every  means  in  my  power  to  prevent  his  advance,  whilst 
c-(  rganization  is  going  on.     Wha  I      i  hole}  the 

country,  as  far  as  practicable,  until  wo  are  in  a  conditii 
advance;  and  then,  with  God's  :  I  thorough 

work  of  it.  .  .  .  Banks,  who  commands  about  85,000  men, 
has  his  headquarters  at  Charlestown  ;  Kelly,  who  has  suc- 
l  Lander,. has  probably  11,000,  with  his  headquarters 
near  Paw  Taw.  Thus  you  see  two  generals,  r  hose  united  force 
is  near  46,000,  of  troops  already  organized  for  three  years  or 
the  war,  opposed  to  our  little  force  here,  But  I  do  not  feel  dis- 
couraged. Let  me  have  what  force  you  can.  .  .  I  am  de- 
lighted to  hear  you  say  that  Virginia  is  resolved  to  concen 
all  her  resources,  if  necessary,  to  the  defence  of  h  i 
Now  we  may  look  fur  war  in  earnest.  .  .  I  have  only  to  say 
this — that  if  this  Jr alley  is  lost,  Virginia  is  lost."  The  de- 
•  of  the  Valley  was  the  dearest  object  of  Jackson's  heart, 
not  only  then,  but  always,  and  he  subsequently  alluded  to  his 


71  i  i.i  : 'J   Of   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

iicitude  apon  this  point,  writing :  wItis  but  natural 
that  I  should  feel  a  deep  and  abiding  interest  in  the  people 
of  the  Valley,  where  arc  the  homes  of  so  many  of  my  brave 
Boldiers,  who  have  been  with  me  so  loug,  and  whose  self- 
Bacrifioing  patriotism  1ms  been  so  thoroughly  tested." 

This  affection  of  the  great  Boldier  for  the  Shenandoah  Yal- 
!•  y  WM  more  than  returned  by  its  inhabitants.  Jackson  is 
famous  everywhere  throughout  the  world,  but  the  people  of 
that  region  first  saw  and  hailed  the  rising  sun  of  his  renown. 
All  lovers  of  purity  and  goodness  now  look  to  him  as  a  noble 
type  of  earnest,  truthful  manhood  ;  but  the  dwellers  on  the 
bauks  of  the  Shenandoah  cherish  his  memory  with  a  deeper 
affection — as  that  of  one  whose  brain,  and  heart,  and  arm? 
were  dedicated  to  their  defence. 

The  reinforcements — ardently  longed  for  and  persistently 
urged — did  not  arrive.  The  march  to  Romriey  and  conse- 
quent suffering  of  the  troops  had  still  further  diminished 
Jackson's  little  army.  It  was  reduced  now  to  about  4,000  men, 
and  the  enemy  were  advancing  with  40,000.  "Winchester 
must  be  evacuated,  and  Jackson  slowly  and  sullenly  falls 
back,  doggedly  retiring  before  the  huge  columns  of  the  en- 
emy, but  striking  their  advance  at  every  step  with  his  cavalry 
under  Asbby.  He  has  fallen  back  nearly  to  Stannton,  when 
suddenly  his  weary  troops  arc  faced  about,  march  down  the 
Valley,  and  a(  Kernstown  find  themselves  in  front  of  the 
Federal  army  nnder  Shields.  Jackson  has  traversed  nearly 
fifty  miles,  moving  so  rapidly  that  only  2,700  have  been  able 
t<>  keep  up,  but  he  is  in  time.  Sedgwick  has  crossed  the 
Blue  Llidge  through  Snicker's  Gap,  and  the  head  of  his 
column  of  15,000  men  is  at  Rfiddleburg,  ready  to  strike  Gen- 
eral Johnston,  who,  falling  back  from  Centrevillc,  has  reached 
the  Rapidan,  when  the  roar  of  artillery  from  the  direction  of 
Winchester  arrests  the  Federal  general's  inarch.  Dispatches 
quickly  come  from  Shields  that  Jacksou  is  pressing  him  hard 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  77 

with  a  force  of  unknown  size,  and  General  Sedgwick  faces 
about  and  returns  to  the  assistance  of  the  11,000  who  arc 
threatened  at  Kerustown  by  Jackson's  2,700. 

Such  were  the  circumstances  under  which  the  battle  of 
Kcrnstown  was  fought.  By  assailing  Shields,  Jackson  with- 
drew a  force  of  15,000  of  the  enemy  from  the  projected  attack 
upon  Johnston — inflicted  a  heavy  loss  upon  the  foe,  and  re- 
tired with  all  his  baggage  and  artillery,  except  two  pieces  dis- 
abled. His  enemies  declared  that  his  brain  was  diseased,  or 
he  never  would  have  broken  down  his  troops  by  this  tremen- 
dous forced  inarch,  to  attack  an  enemy  nearly  five  times  as 
strong  as  himself,  and  for  no  conceivable  object.  Jackson  did 
not  contradict  these  statements — he  went  upon  his  way. 

The  following  brief  notices  and  details  of  the  battle  of  Kcrns- 
town, from  cotemporary  publications,  may  prove  of  interest 
hereafter : 

The  writer  of  these  pages  has  not  considered  it  necessary 
here,  or  elsewhere,  to  indicate  the  particulars  in  which  the 
letter-writers  err  in  their  statements  of  the  main  facts  The 
narratives  of  the  battles  already  given  will  point  out  their  dis- 
crepancies ;  and  the  familiar  details  will  remain  for  what  they 
are  worth. 

"  The  mime  of  Kcrnstown  will  shine  proudly  in  our  annals. 
The  engagement  at  that  place  was  the  most  desperate,  and,  all 
things  considered,  the  most  successful  of  the  war.  J  I.  was  not 
a  defeat;  it  was  a  drawn  battle,  at  the  close  of  which  both 
parties  retired,  the  enemy  to  a  greater  distance  than  our  men, 
who  slept  almost  upon  the  battle-field.  Jackson  made  the  at- 
tack in  obedience  to  orders.  The  blow  was  struck  lor  a  pur- 
pose, and  that  purpose  was  fully  accomplished;  it  was,  there- 
fore, a  victory.  The  marvel  is  that  .Jackson's  men  were  able 
to  fight  at  all,  much  less  a  force  of  live  to  one  in  a  carefully 
chosen  position.  His  troops  had  marched  forty-five  miles  in 
a  day  »nd  a  half — they  had  been  marching  constantly  for  a 
week  or  two  before — and  when  they  arrived  at  the  scene  of 
action  part  of  the  small  army  was  far  in  the  rear.  Fatigued, 
worn  out,  the  little  baud  of  patriots  ' attacked  at  once  and  fu- 


,v  LIP!    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

riduslj  '  the  hugeeneuiy  before  them.     The  'Bhriver  Grreys, 

I  gallant  handful  of  exiles  from  Wheeling,  only  M<l  strong, 
were  thrown  out  as  skirmishers  to  feel  the  enemy,  and  it  took 
three  regiments  of  the  Kanjtees  to  drive  them  back.  The  21st 
Virginia  regiment,  commanded  by  Col.  Patton,  and  containing 
our  own  noble  'Co.  F.,'  from  Richmond,  made  a  splendid 
6ght.  ( Jen.  Jackson,  we  hear,  complimented  them  for  their 
bravery,  and  assigned  them  hereafter  the  position  of  the  ad- 
advance  guard — a  proud  tribute  to  their  pluck  and  bravery. 
I'iif  Irish  battalion  fought  like  tigers — or,  which  is  the  same 
thing,  like  Irishmen  The  'Stonewall  Brigade'  came  up  to 
the  support  of  the  21st,  and  did  its  work  heroically,  as  we  all 
knew  it  would.  The  men  who  held  Patterson's  whole  army 
at  bay,  and  who  won  on  the  field  of  Manassas  a  name  that  will 
live  as  long  as  the  English  tongue  is  spoken,  gathered  new 
laurels  at  Kern  8  town.  Five  tiir.es  the  intrepid  dacksou  led 
his  veterans  to  the  charge  and  drove  back  the  enormous  col- 
umns of  the  enemy.  Night  fell  upon  the  combatants  before 
the  reinforcements  of  eitheir  party  could  come  up.  Twcnty- 
seven  hundred  Virginians  had  attacked  12,000  Yankees — the 
lowest  estimate  of  the  enemy  themselves — and  when  the  light 
closed,  83  of  our  men  lay  dead  on  the  field,  with  410  Yankee 
corpses  by  their  side.  Disclaiming  any  invidiousness,  any 
State  vanity,  we  can  but  feel  proud  of  our  soldiers.  We  glory 
in  them  all,  come  from  what  part  of  the  State  they  may,  and 
in  none  more  than  the  men  of  the  Valley. 

"The  knightliest  of  theffnightly  race, 

Who,  since  the  days  of  old,  . 
Have  kept  the  lamp  of  chivalry 

Alight  in  hearts  of  gol  ' — 
The  kindliest  of  the  kindly  band, 

Who,  rarely  hating  ease, 
let  rode  with  Spotswood  round  the  land 
And  Raleigh  round  the  seas — 

'•  Who  climbed  the  blue  Virginian  hills 
Against  embattled  foes, 

And  planted  there  in  valleys  fair, 

The  lily  and  the  rose — 
Whose  fragrance  lives  in  many  lands, 

Whose  beauty  stars  the  earth. 
And  lights  the  hearths  of  many  houiC3 

With,  loveliness  and  worth  ! " 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON.  79 

"We  thought  they  slept!  the  sons  who  kept 

The  names  of  noble  sires, 
And  slumbered  while  the  darkness  crept     { 

Around  their  vigil  fires  ! 
Bat  still  the  Golden  Horje-shoc  Knights 

Their  Old  Dominion  keep, 
Whose  foes  have  found  enchanted  ground, 

But  not  a  knight  asleep." 

Another  writer  says  : 

"  The  fight  was  made  by  the  Yankees  as  they  fought  at 
Manassas,  first  making  a  demonstration  on  our  right,  and  then 
throwing  their  whole  force  rapidly  to  our  left.  An  'artillery 
duel'  was  kept  up  until  about  four  o'clock,  our  forces  moving 
gradually  to  the  left,  when  the  enemy's  infantry  advanced  iu 
force.  They  were  met  by  the  o7th  and  21st  Virginia  regi- 
ments, and  repulsed  three  times.  Three  times  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  fell,  and  three  times  did  our  gallant  troops  drive  them 
headlong  down  the  hill.  The  1st  brigade,  the  '  Stonewall/ 
then  came  up,  and  again  a  fresh  column  of  the  enemy  was 
driven  back,  leaving  the  side  of  the  hill  black  with  their 
dead  and  wounded.  *  * 

u  No  battle  has  been  fought  during  the  war  against  such 
odds  and  under  the  same  trying  circumstances.  The  Yan- 
kees fought  better  than  at  Manassas,  but  their  officers  could 
be  seen  riding  behind  their  columns  sabreing  the  men  on  to 
the  work.  While  the  battle  lasted,  the  firing  was  sharper  and 
more  rapid  than  on  the  glorious  21st  of  July.  It  was  equally 
as  hard  a  fought  battle,  and  against  greater  odds :  and  if  not 
so  successful  on  our  side,  the  result  leaves  no  blush  of  shame 
behind,  and  adds  new  laurels  to  the  desperate  bravery  of  both 
officers  and  men  of  our  little  army.  *  *  *         * 

"  Letters  received  from  Winchester  last  night,  from  relia- 
ble persons,  state  that  there  is  (  no  exultation  among  the  Yan- 
kees, and  that  they  look  upon  Jackson's  army  as  a  band  of 
heroes.'  Our  ladies  in  Winchester  gave  every  attention  to 
our  wounded  and  prisoners  For  the  first  time  since  the 
Yankees  entered  the  town,  they  crowded  the  streets,  and  the 
march  of  our  men  to  the  railroad  depot  was,  as  one  expresses 
it,  'a  march  of  triumph  rather  than  of  defeat.'  The  Yankees 
did  not  interfere  with  this  patriotic  demonstration,  or  the 
shouts  of  our  brave  boys  for  '  Jeff.  Davis  and  the  Confede- 
racy.'    The  same  letters  represent  the  Yankees  as  looking 


LIFE   UF    M-ONLWAU,    .I.V('KSn.\. 

upon  Jackson's  army,  particularly  Colonel  Ashby's  cavalry, 
with  fear  and  trembling.  The  men  claim  no  victory  over  us, 
though  the  usual  noise  will  be  made  in  their  papeis.  Our 
le  on  the  border  look  upon  our  gallant  fight  on  Sunday  in 
the  light  of  a  victory,  and  seem  cheerful  and  hopeful. 

"It  is  useless  to  say  that  General  Jackson  acted  bravely; 
he  was  in  the  thickest  oi  the  fight,  and  exposed  to  every 
danger.  A  braver  man  Gk>d  never  made.  Colonel  Allen,  of 
the  2d  Virginia,  distinguished  himself.  Three  times  the  flag 
o!"  the  2d  Virginia  was  shot  down,  and  the  staff  shot  away. 
Colonel  Allen,  the  masses  of  the  enemy  close  upon  him, 
jumped  from  his  horse  and  carried  the  colors  from  the  field. 
Colonel  Taliaferro,  of  the  21st,  had  his  horse  shot  under  him, 
and  ai-ted  his  ]  art  well.  Colonel  Echols,  of  the  27th,  had 
hi  arm  badly  broken  while  leading  his  men  to  the  field. 
Colonel  Burks,  of  the  42d,  received  six  shots  through  his 
clothing,  and  his  horse  was  shot  four  times.  .  Lieutenant  Pall, 
Delaware,  who  joined  the  ;">th  at  Harper's  Ferry,  was 
killed,  fighting  bravely.  Captain  Austin,  of  the  5th,  was 
badly  wounded,  and  loft  on  the  field.  Captain  Robertson,  of 
the  27th,  going  on  the  (ield  lame,  was  taken  prisoner.  Lieut. 
Junkin,  General  .Jackson's  Aid-de-Camp,  was  taken  prisoner. 
lie  mistook  a  body  of  Yankees  for  our  men,  and  was  taken. 
The  whole  army  regrets  the  loss  of  the  gallant  Lieutenant. 
Captaiu  Morrison  and  Lieutenant  Lisle,  of  the  Liberty  Hall 
Volunteers,  of  Washington  College,  who  fought  so  gallantly 
bat  Manassas,  were  taken,  and  his  company  badly  cut  up. 

Colonel  Ashby  held  the  right,  and  before  the  fight  was 
over  was  completely  in.  the  rear  of  the  enemy.  He  covered 
mn-  fctreat,  and  by  his  tireless  energy  Ins  made  himself  the 
terror  of  Cue  Yankee-." 

Another  writ 

"Reliable  advices  from   Winch  resent  the  loss  of 

tli' enemy  in  killed  at  near  1,500, and  the  wounded  at  a  much 
larger  figure.  It  is  said  that  about  860  dead  bodies  were 
brought  t  i  Winchester  for  transportation  Northward.  These, 
as  we  suppose,  were  the  ch't'}  win  se  friends  were  able  to  in- 
cur fane  cost  of  removal.  The  mass,  of  course,  wore  buried 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  battle-field. 

"  Upon  enquiring  as  to  the  cause  of  the  disparity  in  the 
casualties  in  the  two  armies,  I    lea.ru,  from  sonic  of  our  men, 


LIFE    05    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  Si 

that  the  enemy  were  so  thick  that  it  was  impossible  for  our 
men  to  miss.  Every  shot  took  effect — if  it  missed  the  column 
at  which  it  was  aimed,  it  was  sure  to  hit  one  in  the  rear. 

"The  most  deadly  strife  occurred  near  the  boundary  of  two 
fields  which  were  separated  by  a  stone  wall.  Two  of  our  regi- 
ments were  in  one  field,  and  sis  Yankee  regiments  in  the 
other.  At  first  they  fired  across  the  wall,  but  after  a  while, 
each  party  advanced  in  a  run,  to  get  the  benefit  of  i\\o  shelter 
of  the  wall.  Our  men  reached  it  first,  and  the  Yankees  were 
then  about  40  yards  distant.  Our  men  immediately  dropped 
on  their  knees,  and  taking  deliberate  aim,  fired  deadly  volleys 
into  the  advancing  lines  of  the  enemy.  The  effect  was  ter- 
rifio,  and  it  is  said  that  an  Ohio  and  a  Pennsylvania  regiment, 
which  were  in  advance,  were  almost  annihilated,  ft  is  said 
that  after  this  fire  not  more  than  20  men  of  one  of  these  regi- 
ments were  left  standing. 

"  We  lost  two  guns  in  the  battle — one  from  the  Rockbridge 
and  one  from  the  Augusta  battery.  The  Rockbridge  gun 
was  struck  by  a  cannon  bail  and  disabled.  The  loss  of  the 
other  was  caused  by  the  killing  of  one  of  the  horses,  which 
frightened  the  others,  and  caused  them  to  turn  suddenly  and 
capsize  the  carriage.  The  enemy  were  close  upon  us,  and  left 
no  time  to  replace  it.  Our  men,  however,  cut  out  and  se- 
cured all  the  horses  but  one,  and  he  was  cut  out  by  the 
enemy,  aud  escaped  from  them,  and  came  galloping  to  our 
camp.  It  wou.d  seem  as  if  even  the.  horses  were  injected 
with  the  spirit  o*  rebellion  and  hatred  to  the  Yankees." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

ILLUSTRATIONS — m'dOVVELL  *.   WINCHESTER. 

May,  18G2,  was  looked  forward  to  by  the  Federal  authori- 
ties as  the  great  month — the  hinge  of  the  crisis  upon  which 
it  would  turn. 

-    Their  plans  were  not  deficient  in  ingenuity,  and  promised 
favorable  results.     Upon  the   OonfeUeratc  capital  four  armies 


v2  I.U'H    OF    STONEWALL    jACKSOtf. 

about  to  converge — Fremont  from  the  West,  Banks 
from  the  Valley.  McDowell  from  Fredericksbuag,  and  Me- 
Clellan  from  the  Peninsula.  Fremont  and  Banks,  having 
united  their  forces,  were  to  cut  all  the  communications,  and 
sweep  down  upon  the  devoted  capital  from  the  mountains; 
McOlellan  was  to  march  to  the  Chickahominy,  and  extend 
his  right  wing  far  Op  that  stream  ;  and.  at  the  same  time 
MeDowclJ  waj  to  advance  Prom  Fredericksburg  and  extend 
bis  left  wing  until  it  formed  a  junction  with  McClellan'p 
right.  The  combined  forces  were  thus  to  surround  Rich- 
nun  on  the  east  and  north  with  a  cordon  of  tire.  Between 
tin-  army  ascending  the  Peninsula  and  the  army  descending 
from  the  mountains,  the  capital  of  the  Confederacy  must,  in 
this  month  of  May,  be  evacuated  or  destroyed. 

To  defeat  these  plans,  only  two  obstacles  existed — 'out  they 
were  Berious.  These  obstacles  were  General  Johnston  and 
General  Jackson.  The  forces  under  their  commands  were 
far  outnumbered  by  those  of  the  enemy;  hut  God  had  en- 
dowed these  two  leaders  with  a  geuius  for  war  which  more 
than  supplied  the  lack  of  numbers. 

The  purpose  of  these  pages  is  to  exhibit  the  part  enacted 
in  the  great  drama  by  General  Stonewall  Jackson;  and  the 
narrative  of  his  battles  in  the  Valley  has  been  given.  V&C 
proceed  now  to  add,  ia  relation  to  the  great  con  bats  which 
succeeded  KeniStOWU,  those    illustrations  mentioned  above. 

From  Kernstown,  Jackson  fell  back,  as  we  have  been,  to- 
ward Staunton,  pursued  by  Gen- Banks.  Crossing  to  Swift 
Run  Gap,  he  took  up  a  strong  position  there,  ready  to  march 
in  any  direction,  aud  ton  fronted  the  enemy,  so  long  following 
upon  his  trail.  Many  skirmishes  took  place,  but  nothing  de- 
cisive occurred;  and  Gen.  Banks  finally  fell  back,  in  order  to 
unite  his  force  with  that  of  Fremont,  approaching  from  the 
West — probably,  also,  with  expected  reinforcements  from 
McDowell  at  Fredericksburg.  Jackson  took  advantage  of 
this  movement   after  hi/  own   fashion,  and,  marching-  around 


LIFE    OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 


Staunton,  went  to  meet  Milroy  and  Schenck,  who  were  ap- 
proaching that  place  from  "Western  Virginia.  The  battle  of 
M'Dowell  followed,  as  has  been  seen,  and  the  expected  junc- 
tion between  Fremont  and  Banks  was  defeated.  The  follow- 
ing details  of  this  engagement  are  taken  from  a  letter  written 
on  May  the  21st,  near  Franklin,  whither  the  enemy  had  been 

pursued  : 

• 

"  About  this  time,  '  Old  Stonewall'  passed  up  the  road  and 
had  a  consultation  with  Gen.  Johnson.  Soon  after  the  con- 
sultation, Johnson's  army  pushed  up  the  road  in  pursuit  of 
the  enemy  towards  Shenandoah  mountain,  followed  by  Jack- 
son's. When  we  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  on  the 
east  side,  we  found  a  regiment  of  Yankees  had  been  camped 
there,  but  had  left  on  hearing  of  our  appearance,  leaving  be- 
hind all  their  tents,  clothing,  commissary  stores  and  a  number 
of  small  arms,  most  of  which  they  broke  the.  stocks  of,  but 
several  cases  were  left  unopened  and  in  fine  order. 

'•'After  scouting  the  mountain  thoroughly,  we  found  that 
three  regiments  had  been  camped  upon  the  top,  but  upon  our 
approach  had  made  a  hasty  retreat 

"When  we  arrived  upon  the  summit,  we  could  see  the 
enemy  in  hasty  retreat  on  the  east  side  of  Bull  Pasture  moun- 
tain, about  live  miles  in  advance.  Tt  being  late  in  the  day, 
our  commander  thought  it  prudent  to  halt  and  go  into  cam]) 
for  the  night. 

"At  sunrise  the  next  morning,  we  were  again  on  the  line 
of  march  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy.  AVhen  we  arrived  at  Bull 
Pasture  mountain,  we  ascended  to  its  summit,  when  Ash  by 's 
scouts  reported  that  the  Yankees  had  placed  four  pieces  of 
artillery  on  the  road  leading  to  McDowell,  on  the  we^t  side  of 
the  mountain,  where  the  road  passes  through  a  narrow  gorge. 
The  heights  commanding  Monterey  were  also  in  possession  of 
the  enemy  with  artillery  planted. 

:',:  *  *  *  >:-•  *  *•  *  * 

*  We  expected  to  renew  the  fight  the  next  morning,  but 
the  bird  had  flown,  leaving  behind,  at  McDowell,  where  8,000 
were  encamped,  all  his  camp  equipage,  a  large  quantity  ol 
ammunition,  a  numberupf  cases  of  Enfield  rifles,  together 
with  about  100  head  of  cattle,  which  they  had  stolen,  being 
mostly  milch  cows. 


•  •  •  V    * 

>{  I.1FK    u:     STo.NKWALL    JACKSON.     || 

^At  MclV.well,  Milroy's  headquarters,  great  destruction 
was  done  to  private  property.  • 

"Tlir  Yankees  had  been  enjoying  themselves  finely.  They 
had  erected  large  bake  ovens,  and  the  oiheers'  kitehens  were 
all  provided  with  large  cooking  stoves  of  the  most  improved 
pattern. 

"  <  )n  the  retreat,  our  cavalry  overtook  and  captured  a  num- 
'   prisoners.     Among  them  was  a  colonel  and  an  ablc- 
bodied  negro  worth  at  least  -';  L,500.    ' 

"  We  have  bund  a  number  of  dead  and  many  graves  along 
s  abandoned  Wagons  and  broken-down  hof 
I  learn  this  morning  that  i;i;>  dead  Yankees  have  been  found 
in  the  mountain  hollow,  near  McDowell,  covered  with  brush. 

"  People  along  the  road  tell  us  that  they  pressed  all  their 
.heir  artillery,  cCQ. 

"  We  airived  at  this  1  I  fday  (Sunday)  about  three 

!;,   P.  M.      On   our  approach,   the   enemy  took   to  the 
mountain  .  had  planted  artillery,  and   set  lire  to 

all  the  works.  So  dense  was  the  smoke,  that  we  could  not 
iiii'l  the  position  until  night  fell,  when  it  was  too  dark  to  shell 
then:,  in  fact,  it  is  very  hard  to  drive  an  enemy  from  the 
mount  a  u  heights,  as  you  can  seldom  get  a  position  for  artil- 
lr\ .  This  morning  our  scouts  are  out  in  search  of  a  position, 
ami  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  Yankees,  but  I  have  not 
y<  i  heard  from  them. 

"  Northwestern  Virginia  is  now  nearly  free  from  the  scoun- 
liri  Is. 

u I  do  not  know  our  destination,  as  (ieneral  Jackson  never 
tells  any  one  his  plans,  not  even  his  Brigadiers  and  Aids. 

"The  Yankees  had  put  up  a  telegraph  wire  almost  to  Mont- 
erey; but,  on  our  approach,  they  abandoned  the  work,  leaving 
several  tons  ol  wire,  ladders,  &c,  behind. 

"Tne  fight,  1  suppose,  will  be  renewed  as  soon  as  General 
Jackson  ascertains  the  enemy's  position." 

One  passage  in  the  above  letter  will  seem  a  very  unneces- 
sary muiouneement  to  those  who  knew  the  habits  of  Jackson — 
"I  do  not  know  our  destination,  as  (ieneral  Jackson  never  tells 
any  one  his  plans,  not  even  his  brigadiers  and  Aids.".  This 
statement  will  excite  the  amusement  of  many  persons;  for  it 
is  made  in  relation  to  a  man  who  declared,  that  "if  his  coat 


-  •  *  * 

>4^IP"E   OE  STONEWALL  JACKSON.  85    * 

knew  what  he  intended  to  do,  lie  would  take  it  off  and  burn 
it" — and  who  said  on  another  occasion,  in  the  low,  quiet 
voice  peculiar  to  him,  "  Mystery — mystery  is  the  secret  of 
success  !"  f  %  ^ 

Jackson  returned  devout  thanks  for  his  victory,  aud  we 
have  in  the  letter  of  a  correspondent,  the  following  allusion  to 
the  scene :  % 

"  A  significant  illustration  of  the  elevated  virtues  and  prin- 
ciples which  governed  Jackson's  public  acts  was  given  on 
Monday  last,  three  miles  north  of  Franklin,  in  "Pendleton 
count}'.  On  the  morning  of  that  day,  he  addressed  his  troops^ 
in  a  few  terse  and  pointed  remarks,  thanking  them  for  the 
courage,  endurance  and  soldieijy  conduct  displayed  at  the  , 
battle  of  McDoWell,  on  Thursday,  the  8th  instant,  and  closed 
by  appointing  10  o'clock  of  that  day,  as  an  occasion  ot 
prayer  and  thanksgiving  throughout  the  army,  for  the  victory 
which  followed  that  bloody  engagement.  There,  in  the  beau- 
tiful little  valley  of  the  South  .Branch,  with  the  blue  and  tow- 
ering mountains  covered  with  the  verdure  of  Spring,  ^e  green 
sward  smiling  a  welcome  to  the  season  of  flowers,  and  the 
bright  sun,  uuclouded,  lending  a  genial,  refreshing  warmth, 
that  army,  equipped  for  the  stern  conflict  of  war,  bent  in  hum- 
ble praise  and  thanksgiving  to  the  God  of  Battles  for  the  suc- 
cess vouchsafed  to  our  arms  in  the  recent  sanguinary  encounter 
of  the  two  armies.  While  this  solemn  ceremony  was  progress- 
ing in  every  regiment,  the  minds  of  the  .soldiery  drawn  off 
from  the  bayouet  aud  sabre,  the  enemy's  artillery  was  occa- 
sionally belching  forth  its  leaden  death,  yet  all* unmoved 
stood  that  worshipping  army,  acknowledging  the  supremacy  of 
the  will  of  Him  who  controls  the  destinies  of  men  and  na- 
tion*, and  chooses  the  weaker  things  of  earth  to  confound  the 
mighty. 

"  Gen.  Jackson  is  one  of  the  purest  men  I  ever  knew.  He 
is  far  above  all  political  or  personal  considerations.  He  is  a 
Christian  patriot,  deeply  impressed  with  the  righteousness 
the  cause  in  which  he  has  uusheathed  his  sword,  a  ml,,  copend- 
ing upon  the  aid  of  a  just  God,  determined  to  win  the  freedom 
of  his  country,  or  peria|^n  the  holy  effort^ 

*  The  battle  of  MeDowelTwas  fought  on  the  8th  of  May  ;  and 
5 


gg  LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON. 

mounceJ  by  Jackson  in  his  habitual  terms  oi   piety  aud 
p^citv — "God  blessed  our  arms  with  victory  at  McDowell 
ri.l.iv."     Then  he  went  al'ter  (Jen.  Banks. 
Ilin  design   now  required  energy,  nerve,  rapidity  of  move- 
it,  and  all  die  greatest  facilities  of  thesoldicr.     The  design 
to  defeat  or  drive  Banks  before  him  across  the  Potomac  ; 
to  thus  divert  McDowell  from  his  projected  junction  with  Me- 
ridian  in  froui  "1    Kichmond  ;   and  in  the  event  that  success 
urOWDed    his   arms,   to    cross   into    Maryland    and    advance    to 
attack  Washiujfcn. 

The  authorities  at  Washington  realized  their  danger.     Lin- 
•  cola's  dispatches  teem  with  allusions  to  the  suspected  desigus 
of  Jackson.     On   the    17th   of  May,  he   writes    to    General 
McClellan: 

"In  order,  therefore,  to  increase  the  strength  of  the  attack 
upon  Uichuiond,  at  the  earliest  moment;  Gen-  McDowell  has 
been  ordered  to  march  upon  that  city  by  the  shortest  route. 
He  is  ordered — keeping  himself  always  in  a  position  to  < 
//<>■  (\tjlilal  from  ail  possible  attach — so  to  operate  as  to  put 
hi.-  left  wing  in   communication    with   your   right.        *  * 

Tin-  specific  task  assigned  to  his  command,  lias  been  to  pro- 
vide  against  any  danger  to  the  Capital  of  the  nation.  At  your 
earliest  eall  for  reinforcements  he  is  sent  forward  to  co-operate 
in  the  reduction  of  llichmond,  hut  charged  in  attempting  this, 
■not  to  uncon  r  the  city  of  Washington  ;  and  you  trill  give  710 
orders*  cither  before  or  after  your  junction  f  which  can  put  him 
out  bf position  tu  coccr  this  city" 

(>n  the  21st  of  May,  Lincoln  writes  to  McDowell,  at  Fred- 
eric ksbu  % 

"jj^n!  I'lrniont  has  been  ordered  by  telegraph  to  move 
from  Franklin  on  Harrisonburg  to  relieve  Gcu.  Banks  ami 
capture  or  destroy  Jackson's  or  Swell's  forces. 

''You  arc  instructed,  laying  aside  for  the  present  the  move- 
ment on  Kichmond,  to  put  twenty  thousand  men  in  motion  at 
e  for  the  Shenandoah,  moving  on  the  line  or  in  the  ad-' 
vajpe  of  the  Manassas  Gap  KailroadL..  Your  object  will  be  to 
capture  the  forces  of  .Jackson  andJSwell,  either  in  co-o^e^a- 
tion  with  Gcu.  Fremont;  or  iu  case  of  a  waut  of  supplies  or 


LlFE.Oj   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  87 

transportation  interferes  with  his  movement,  it  is  believed  that 
the  force  with  which  you  move  will  be  sufficient  to  accom- 
plish the  object  alone.  The  information  thus  received  WTo 
makes  it  probable  that  if  the  enemy  operate  actively  against 
] Kinks  you  will  not  be  able  to  count  upon  much  assistance 
from  him-,  but  may  even  have  to  release  him.  Reports  re- 
ceived this  moment  are  that  Banks  is  fighting  with  Ewell 
eight  mites  from  "Winchester." 

General  McDowell  replies,  on  May  24th:  "The  President's 
order  has  been  received— is  iu  process  of  execution.  This 
is  a  crushing  blow  to  us."  He  adds,  on  the  same  day:  "I 
beg  to  say  that  co-operation  between  Fremont  and  myself,  to 
cut  off  Jackson  or  Ewell,  is  not  to  be  counted  upon,  even  if 
it  is  not  a  practical  impossibility.  Next,  that  I  am  entirely 
beyond  helping  distance  of  General  Banks,  and  no  celerity  or 
vigor  will  avail,  so  far  as  he  is  concerned.  Next,*  that  by  a 
glance  at  the  map,  i^will  be  seen  that  the  line  of  retreat  of 
the  enemy's  forces  up  the  Valley,  is  shorter  than  mine  to  go 
against  him.  It  will  take  a  week  or  ten  days  for  my  force  to 
go  to  the  Valley  by  this  route,  which  will  give  it  good  forage, 
and  by  that  time  the  enemy  will  have  retreated.  I  shall  gain 
nothing  for  you  there,  and  shall  gain  much  for  }tou  hciw  -It 
is,  therefore,  not  only  on  personal  grounds  that  I  have  a  heavy 
heart  in  the  matter,  but  that  I  feel  it  throws  us  all  back,  and 
from  Richmond,  North,  we  shall  have  all  our  large  masses 
paralyzed,  and  shall  have  to  repeat  what  we  have  just  accom- 
plished. I  have  ordered  General  Shields  to  commence  a 
movement  by  •to-morrow  morning.  A  second  division  will 
follow  in  the  afternj^n." 

Such  was  th^Bffiion  of  the  pieces  on  the'  great  chess- 
board of  war  at  the  end  of  May.  McClellau  threatening 
Johnston  at  Richmond,  and  clamoring  for  McDowell — Lin- 
coln, iu  Washington,  telegraphing  McDowell  to  "  put  20,000 
men  in  motion  "  to  destroy  Jackson,  and  ".cover  "  his  beloved 
Coital.  \T\\q  situaciojj^as  not  without  JSftnents  of  the  gro- 
tesque— and    the.   complicated    movements   of    the   Federal 


89  LIFE  01   STONEWALL  JACK 

Generals,  MeClellan,  Banks,  McDowell,   Shield.-,  Milmy  and 
Fremfct, might  have  puzzled  the  brains  of  I  thorough 

master  of  the  art  of  war. 

The  problem  was  bood  sol^d,  however — the  Dent  Ex 
Machina  appeared  in  the  shape  of  General  Jackson.  The 
battle  of  Winchester  has  b  •  d  narral  1 ;  but  another  account 
of  the  affair  exists — Gen.  Banks's.  It  is  headed  :  "Official 
Report  of  the  March  of  the  First  Division ^  Fifth  Corps 
iVArnu'e,  from  Strushunjy  1"''..  to  Williamsport,  Maryland, 
2  \th  and  25///  days  of  Jf<ij/,  1862."  It  is  somewhat  sin- 
gular that  General  Hanks  should  call  the  movement  of  his 
troops  a  march,  when,  after  telling  pathetically  how  "Colonel 
Kenly's  1'oree  had  been  destroyed  "  at  Front  Royal,  he  adds  : 
"It  was,  therefore,  determined  to  enter  the  lists  with  the 
enemy  in  a  race  or  a  battle — as  he  should  choose — for  the 
possession  of  Winchester,  the  key  of  tta  Valley,  and  for  us 
the  position  of  safety."  The  "march"  was  really  a  "race," 
as  General  {tanks  inadvertently  calls  it  in  his  text;  and  here 
are  some  extracts  from  his  account  of  the  affair: 

"  The  strength  and  purpose  of  the  enemy  were  to  us  un- 
known when  we  reached  Winchester,  except  upon  uncertain 
reports  and  unsatisfactory  rcconnoissances  Our  suspicions 
■were  strengthened  by  the  vigor  with  which  the  enemy  had 
passed  our  main  column,  and  defeated  at  every  point  the 
efforts  of  detachments  to  effect  a  junction  with  the  main 
body. 

"At  Winchester,  however,  all  suspense  was  relieved  on  that 
subject.  All  classes — Secessionists,  Union  men,  refugees, 
fugitives  and  prisoners — agreed  that  the  enemy's  force  at  or 
near  Winchester  was  overwhelming,  rangtii'^froni  twenty-five 
to  thirty  thousand.  Rebel  officers,  who  efflfe  into  our  camp 
with  entire  unconcern,  supposing  that  their  own  troops  occu- 
pied the  town,  and  were  captured,  confirmed  these  statements, 
a/fld  added  that  an  attack  would  be  made  upon  us  at  day- 
break.     I  determined  to    test    the    substance   and   strength   of 


the    enemy  by  actual   collision,  and   measures  were  promptly 

■i  them.      They  had  tdffe 
up  their  positions  on  entering  the  town  after  dark  without  ex- 


taken  to  prepare  our  troops   to  meet  them.     They  had  tmen 


LlFK   OH   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  8f 

pectations  of  a  battle,  and  were  at  disadvantage  as  compared 
with  the  enemy. 

"The  rattling  of  musketry  was  heard  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  night,  and  before  the  break  of  day  a  sharp  engagement 
occurred  at  the  outposts.  Soon  after  four  o'clock  the  artillery 
opened  its  fire,  which  was  continued  without  cessation  till  tho 
close  of  the  engagement.  • 

"  The  right  of  our  line  was  occupied  by  the  Third  Bri- 
gade, Colonel  George  H.  Gordon  commanding.  The  regi- 
ments were  strongly  posted,  and  near  the  centre  covered  by 
stone  walls  from  the  live  of  the  enemy. 

"  Their  infantry  opened  on  the  right,  and  soon  both  lines 
were  under  heavy  fire. 

"  The  left  was  occupied  by  the  First  Brigade,  Col.  Dudley 
Donnelly  commanding. 

"The  line  was  weak  compared  with  that  of  the  enemy; 
but  the  troops  wore  well  posted,  and  patiently  awaited,  as  they 
nobly  improved,  their  coining  opportunity.  The  earliest 
movements  of  the  enemy  were  on  our  left,  two  regiments 
being  seen  to  move  as  with  the  purpose  of  occupying  a  posi- 
tion in  flank  or  rear.  General  Williams  ordered  a  detach- 
ment of  cavalry  to; intercept  this  movement,  when  it  was 
apparently  abandoned.  The  enemy  suffered  very  teriou*  lots 
from  the  fire  of  our  infantry  on  the  left.  One  regiment  is 
represented, 'l>y  persons  present  during  the  action,  and  after 
the  field  was  evacuated,  as  uearly  destroyed. 

"  The  main  body  of  the  enemy  was  hidden  during  th'a 
early  part  of  the  action  by  the  crest  of  the  hill  and  the  woods 
in  the  rear. 

"  Their  force  was  massed  apparently  upon  our  right,  and 
their  manoeuvres  indicated  a  purpose  to  turn  us  upon  the  Ber- 
ryville  road,  where,  it  appeared  subsequently,  they  had  placed 
a  considerable  force,  with  a  view  of  preventing  reinforce- 
ments from  Harper's  Ferry.  But  the  steady  fire  of  our  lines 
held  them  in  check  until  a  small  portion  of  our  troops  on  the 
right  of  our  line  made  a  movement  to  the  rear.  It  is  but 
just  to  add  that  this  was  done  under  the  erroneous  impression 
that  an  order  to  withdraw  had  been  given.  Xo  sooner  *Was 
this  observed  by  the  enemy  than  its  regiments  swarmed  upon 
llyp  crest  of  the  hill,Alvaneing  from  the  woods  upon  our 
right,  which,  still  continuing  its  fire  steadily,  withdrew  to- 
wards the  town.   I 


(•II 

a: 

7h 


96  UFi;  NEWALL  JACKSON. 

-•The  overwhelming   force   of   the   enemy  now  suddenly 

showing  itself,  makiDg  further  resistance  unwise,  orders  were 

to  the  left   by  Captain    DeHauteviHc  to  withdraw  the 

!'ii-;  Brigade,  which  was  done  reluctantly,  but  in  order,  the 

2   greatly  suffered  on   that  wing.     A  portion  of 

o  troeps  passed  through  the  town  in  some  confusion;  but 

e  column  was  sdGn  re-formed,  and  continued  its  march  in 

rder. 


«  march  was  turned  in  ihc  direction  of  Martinsburg, 
here  to  meet  with  reinforcements — the  troops  moving 
in  three  parallel  columns,  each  protected  by  an  efficient  rear 
-nard.  Pursuit  by  the  enemy  was  PROMPT,  AND  VTGOROl  8  ; 
BUT  OUR  MOVEMENTS  WERE  RAPID  and  without   loss. 

-•  A  few  mires'  from  Winchester  the  sound  of  the  steam- 
whistle,  heard  in  the  direction  of  Martinsburg,  strengthened 
the  hope  of  reinforcements,  and  stirred  the  blood  of  the  men 
like  a  trumpet.  Soon  after  two  squadrons  of  cavalry  came 
dashing  down  the  road)  with  wild  hurrahs.  They  were 
thought  to  be  the  advance  of  the  anticipated  support,  and 
were  received  with  deafening  (dicers.  Every  man  felt  like 
turning  back  upon  the  enemy.  It  proved  to  be  the  First 
.Maryland  Cavalry,  Ool,  Witchky,  sent  out  in  the  morning  as 
a  train  guard.  Hearing  the  guns,  they  had  returned  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  light.  Advantage  was  taken  of  this  stirring 
incident  to  reorganize  our  column,  and  the  march  was  con- 
tinued with  renewed  spirit  and  order.  At  Martinsburg  the 
column  halted  two  and  a  half  hours — the  rear  guard  remain- 
ing until  seven  in  the  evening  in  rear  of  the  town — and 
arrived  at  the  river  at  sundown,  forty-eight  hours  alter  the 
first  news  of  the  a  tack  on  Kront  Koyal.  it  was  a  march  of 
fifty-three  miles,  thirty-live  of  which  were  performed  in  one 
day.  The  scene  at  the  river,  when  the  rear  guard  arrived, 
was  of  the  nm-l  animating  and  exciting  description.  A 
thousand  cam])  iircs  were  burning  on  the  hill  side,  a  thousand 
carriages  of  every  description  were  crowded  upon  the  banks, 
and  the  broad  river  rolled  between  the  exhausted  troops  and 
their  coveted  rest. 

"The  ford  was  too  deep  for  the  teams  to  cross  in  regular 
succession.  Only  the  strongci  t  horses,  after  a  lew  unsuccess- 
ful experiments,  were  allowed  to  essay  the  passage  of  the 
river  before  morninjr. 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  1>1 

u  The  single  ferry  was  occupied  by  the  aminuiiitiqn  trails, 
the  ford  by  the  wagons. 

tl  The  cavalry  were  secure  in  its  own  power  of  crossing. 
The  troops  only  had  no  transportation.  Fortunately,  the 
train  we  had  so  seditiously  guarded,  served  us  in  turn.  Sevc 
ral  boats  belonging  to  the  pontoon  train,  which  we  hvu 
brought  from  Strasburg,  were  launched,  and  devoted  exelu 
sively  to  their  service.  It  is  seldom  that  a  river  crossing  o 
such  magnitude  is  achieved  with  greater  success,  and  "  there 
never  were  more  graceful  hearts''  in  the  same  number  of  men 
than  when,  at  mid-day  of  the  '20th,  we  stood  on  the  opposite 
shore. 

"  My  command  had  not  suffered  an  attack  and  rout.  It 
had  accomplished  a  u  premeditated  "  march  of  nearly  sixty 
miles,  in  the  face  of  the  enemy,  defeating  his  pfcms  and  giving 
him  battle  wherever  he  was  found. 

u  Our  wagon  train  consisted  of  nearly  five  hundred  wag' >n~. 
Of  this  number  fiftyrfive  were  lost.  TWzy  inept  not,  with  but 
few  exceptions^  abandoned  to  tJie  enemy^but  were  Jjkirned  u}»>)r, 
the  road.  Nearly  all  of  our  supplies  were  thus  sarrd.  Tim. 
stores  at  Front  Royal,  of  which  I  had  no  knowledge  until  my 
visit  to  that  post  on  the  21st  instant,  and  those  at  AYinohes- 
ter,  of  which  a  considerable  portion  was  destroyed  by  our 
troops,  are  not  embraced  in  this  statement." 

Compare  the  statement  italicised,  with  Gen.  Jackson's  offi- 
cial one,  which  we  have  presented' 

Having  given  precedence  duly  to  Gen.  Banks'  official  re- 
port, let  us  look  at  a  few  statements  by  eye-witnesses,  and 
participants  in  the  battles,  or  those  who  were  ou^hc  spot 
soon  afterwards.  A  young  officer  of  the  Irish  Battalion, 
writes  to  his  uncle  : 

"  A  series  of  successes  have  crowned  our  efforts.  We  first 
drove  tl\c  enemy  from  Front  Royal,  defeating  and  capturing 
about  six  hundred  prisoners,  besides  a  very  large  quantity  of 
stores  of  all  kinds.  Immediately  after  we  got  possession  ot 
the  place  a  train  loaded  with  coffee  came  iu,  which  is  a  per- 
fect God-send  to  us,  as  rations  of  that  article  have  been 
stopped  for  some  days.  We  then  drove  the  remaining  por- 
tion of  the  army  towards  Middletown,  wdierc  we  raptured  a 
large   portion   of  their   wagons,   containing  a   little   ox    must 


: 


ret 

% 

on 


92  LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

everything.       From    tlience   wc   wended    our   way    towards 
Straeburf,  where  all  of  their  wagons  fell  into  our  hands.    We 

left  our  camp,  which  was  about  two  miles  beyond  Luray,  and 
marched  fcWenty-seven  miles  to  reach  Front  Royal — this  was 
on  Friday — we  marched  all  day  and  night  Saturday,  and 
readied  Winchester  yesterday,  (Sunday,)  about  live  o'clock,. 
about  daybreak.  The  engagement  lasted  one  hour  and  a 
all',  but  it  was  a  terrific  one,  short  as  it  w;.s.  Their  force 
repulsed  and  scattered,  and,  after  once  getting  on  their 
-cent,  we  did  not  let  them  rest.  In  the  three  days  we  have 
captured  about  fifteen  hundred  prisoners.  This  I  can  safely 
say.  but  1  think  it  will  exceed  that  number,  as  they  arc  still 
coming  in.  A  squad  of  fifty-three  has  just  passed  our  camp. 
This  does  not  include  the  negro  women  our  men  briug  in 
with  them,  ^pmetimes  we  sec  a  group  of  a  dozen  or  more 
prisoners  with  three  or  four  negro  women.  By  the  way, 
while  here,  ^three  of  the  Yankees  married  negro  wenches. 
AVe  are  still  pursuing  the  enemy,  but  it  is  the  general  im- 
pression that  they  will  not  stop  this  side  of  the  Potomac. 
Gem  Shields  left  Winchester  on  Wednesday,  crossing  the 
mountains,  but  what  course  he  took  I  have  not  learned.  The 
rascals  fired  all  the  houses  lit  re  tilled  with  medical  and  quar- 
termaster's stores,  but  the  citizens  put  the  fire  out ;  so  we 
save  enormous  quantities  of  everything — stores  enough  for 
our  army  for  twelve  months.  All  of  our  men  supplied  them- 
selves with  clothes,  shoes,  blankets,  and  even  shirts,  socks, 
drawers,  gloves,  and  everything  a  soldier  wants  or  needs. 


a 


u  General  Jackson  had  his  war  look  on  yesterday.     He  was 

50  fatigued  that,  after  the  light,  he  actually  went  to  sleep  00 
his  charger.  Me  rode  about  the  battle-field  regardless  of  shot 
and  shell, 'and  looked  as  if  nothing  was  going  on.  I  was  not 
half  so  much  alarmed  as  1  thought  1  would  be,  it  being  my 
first  appearance  on  a  battle-field  J  met  with  many  narrow 
escapes,  as  did  all  of  US,  for  which  I  am  truly  thankful.  I 
never  ielt  so  proud  as  when  we  marched  victorious  through 
the  town  of  Winchester  in  pursuit  of  a  flcet-footcl  .enemy. 
Thanks  to  the  .Most  High  for  his  protection  to  our  brave  and 
gallaujfr«n>iy.  dust  think  of  marching  twenty-seven  miles 
and  ^ghj^g  two  hours.      The  men   all  call   themselves  Jack- 

:-o!i's    foJFFilVal"  V." 


LIFE    OF    8TONEWALL   JAOIvSON.  93 

Another  writer  says  : 

41  The  euemy  made  but  a  short  stand  at  Frout  Royal.    The. 
1st  Maryland   Volunteers,  on  the   Yankee   side,  was  charged 
by  the  1st  Regiment  of  Maryland  rebels,  who  put  their  old 
acquaintances  to  flight  in  a  short  time,  capturing  a  stand  of 
colors,  killing  several,  and  taking  a  number  of  prisoners. 

"  We  took  the  enemy  by  surprise,  and  put  them  to  flight^ 
before  one-fourth  of  our  forces  had  entered  the  town.     The 
cavalry,  among  which  were  the  Wise  Troop  and  Jack  Alex- 
ander's company,  charged  upon  the  Yankees,  in  the  retreat, 
killing  many,  and  capturing  a  large  number  of  prisoners.** 

"  Among  the  arms  captured  are  about  five  hundred  im- 
proved cavalry  six-shooters,  an  article  very  much  needed. 

"  When  we  entered   Frout  Royal,  the  women  and   children 
met  us  with  shouts  of  the  liveliest  joy.  As  we  passed  through      Jj 
the  place  in  double-quick,  we  could  not  stop  to  partake  of  the 
hospitality  so  generously  and  profusely  tendered  on  all  hand.-. 

li  Among  one  of  the  squads  of  prisoners,  about  twenty  in 
number,  was  a  woman,  mounted.  When  we  came  to  the  Val- 
ley turnpike,  we  found  hosts  of  prisoners,  and  the  road 
blockaded  with  dead  aud  live  horses,  and  wagons  heavy  laden 
with  subsistence,  &c,  together  with  dead  aud  wouMded 
Yankees. 

"At  early  dawn  this  (Sunday)  morning,  we  advanced  nod 
attacked  the  mighty  Banks  in  front  of  Winchester.  After 
fighting  about  one  hour,  distributing  shell  and  miunie  balls 
profusely,  our  boys  made  a  charge,  wheu  the  Yankees  left  at 
double-quick,  after  setting  fire  to  the  town,  aud  burning  their 
commissary  stores.        • 

11  The  Lee  battery  of  Lynchburg  and  two  others  were  or- 
dered to  pursue  in  a  gallop,  and  the  command  was  obeyed, 
they  shelling  the  enemy  for  five  miles. 

"When  the  army  passed  through  the  town,  men,  womeu 
aud  children  were  shouting,  'Thank  God,  we  arc  free — thank 
God,  we  are  tree  once  more  I"  Confederate  flags  and  white 
handkerchiefs  were  waved  from  every  window,  and  the  happy 
smiles  of  lovely  women  on  all  sides  met  the  wearied  soldier, 
and  cheered  him  as  he  hurriedly  passed  through  the  place 
in  pursuit  of  the  flying  foe. 

u  After  pursuing  the  enemy  for  six  miles,  we  were  brought 
to  a  halt,  and  left  the  finishing  stroke  to  the  cavalry,  who 


()4  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

Captured  a  huge  number  of  prisoners,  who  have  been 
Bent  in  through  the  day.  ^ 

9  "Prisoners  tell  me  that  General  Banks  lias  said  that  he 
was  afraid  that  lie  would  have  to  surrender  his  whole  com- 
mand, and  to  be  relieved  of  the  painful  necessity,  and  (o  save 

ITO  bacon,  I  PC  day  on  an   extra  tar." 

Mowing  is  from  a  member  of  Congress  to  a  friend  in 

mond  '■ 

"There  never  was  a  more  successful  and  more  decided  and 
oaavhclmiTi;:-  victory      When  our  guns  opened  on  the  enemy 
at  jramt  Royal  they  had  no  idea  who  was  hammering  at  them, 
thinking  that  Jackson  was  a  hundred  miles  away  from  them. 
They  were  completely  surprised  and  panic-stricken  by  the 
suddenness  of  the  attack.     They  surrendered  to  us  by  hun- 
ts, allowing  all  their  stores  of  every  sort,  and  in  the  great- 
[uantities,  to  be  captured,  without  au  effort  to  dei'cud  or 
■ 
"Bank    was  with  the  main  body  of  his  army  at  Strasburg 
when  we  took    IV  '.  and  alarmed  by  our  guns,  they 

1   their  works   (which  are  quite  extensive  at  that 
'  bach  towards  Winchester;  but  before   they 
had  gotten  half-way,  old  Stonewall  was  upon4,hcm,  and  their 
■■  a  rout. 

dletown  to  Winchester,  and  from  thence  to  Mar- 

urg,  the  rush  of  the  retreating  wretches  is  represented 

bi  ea  more  ridiculously  terrible  than  that  at  Manassas. 

Our  batteries  would   open  upon  a  wagon  in  front  of  a  train, 

(king  it  over  in  the  road,  and  before  those  behind  it  could 

i  ir  headway,  they  would  come  thundering  down  upon 

■    of  the   first  wagon,   whilst   other   teams    would   be 

in  upon  them  so  as  to  block  up  the  road  completely^ 

thru  Ashby's  eavah  I  charge  upon  the  more  forward  of 

M  the  masses  of  disorganized  infantry,  and 

such  a  scene  of  confusion  and  conflict  as  they  kept  up  for 

many  miies  you  possibly  may  imagine,  but  I  certainly  cannot 

i  ibe. 

"Old  Banks  behaved  in  a  most  cruel  and  cowardly  manner 

on  this  retreat,      i!  nipaiiied  by  a  crowd  of  negroes 

whom  he  \va>  running   oil"  to    Yankee    land,  and  lie   preferred 

to  leave  Lis  own  wounded  in  our  hands  than  to  allow  the  negro 

women  and  children  to  be  turned  out  of  the  wagons  and  have 


LIFE   OP   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  95 


D 


tlicm  used  for  the  transportation  of  the  sick  and   sufferin 
white  soldiers  of  his  own  army. 

"  At  the  first  salvo  of  artillery  he  put  spurs  to  his  horse 
and  distanced  all  competitors  in  the  race  from  the  field.  At 
Middletown  he  stopped  for  a  drink  of  water,  and  was"  blub- 
bering like  a  baby  because  reinforcements  had  not  been  sent 
him. 

'•To  give  you  an  idea  of  the  demoralization  of  the  Yankees 
on  their  way  from  Strasburg,  I  will  only  mention  one  fact  : 

'•In  the  ardor  of  pursuit,  Ashby  had  separated  himself 
from  his  men,  and  had  gotten  abreast  of  the  Yankee  column 
of  cavalry,  whi<  h  was  rushing  down  the  turnpike.  Alonv: 
he  r/tan/ru  j!r<  hundred  of  them — dashed  through  their  line, 
firing  his  pistols  right  and  left  as  he  did  so — then  wheeling 
about,  he  again  charged  through  them  and  summoned  them  to 
surrender.  All  who  heard  his  voice  at  once  obeyed,  threw 
down  their  arms,  dismounted,  and,  at  the  word,  squatted  as 
meekly  as  so  many  mice  upon  the  ground,  until  some  of  our 
men  came  up  and  took  charge  of  them.  In  one  instance,  he 
took  thirty  in  "this  way.  When  our  men  would  charge  the 
Federal  cavalry,  they  would  tumble  off  their  horses,  rollover, 
scream,  and  scramble  to  the  road-side  in  the /most  amusing 
maimer.  But  I  cannot  pretend  to  jot  down  a  hundredth  part 
of  the  incidents  of  this  most  remarkable  victory. 

"  At  Winchester  the  enemy  tried  to  make  a  stand  in  the 
suburbs,  but  our. boys  drove  them  pell-mell  through  ike 
.streets,  and  soon  beyond  to  Martinsburg. 

"  Many  were  killed  in  the  streets,  and  a  remarkable  feature 
of  the  day  was  that  when  the  tide  of  battle  rolled  towards 
the  town,  the  glorious  women  of  Winchester  turned  out  to 
give,  relief  to  our  wouuded  and  exhausted  soldiers,  an  1  bo 
regardless  were  they  of  danger  that  they  were  not  deterred 
from  their  pious  duty  by  the  shot  and  shell  which  fell  around 
them.  Iu  the  streets  our  men  .had  to  advance  a  guard  to 
clear  the  women  out  of  the  way  for  our  platoons  to  deliver 
their  fire.  This,  I  am  assured,  was  literally  th<*  case  in  more 
instances  than  one." 

Another  writer  says : 

"  The  wild  joy  with  which  the  inhabitants,  especially  the 
ladies,  greeted  our  army  in  Winchester  and  Charlestown,  can 
be  more  readily  imagined  than  described.     The  2d  Virginia 


96  LIFE   Ui'   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

regiment,  composed  of  volunteers  from  Jefferson,  Clarke  aud 
Berkeley,  inarched  through  Charlestown  with  scarcely  a  halt ; 
such  was  the  pressure  of  the  military  discipline  in  which  their* 
brave  commander  trains  them,  that  they  neither  asked  nor 
received  the  privilege  of  halting  to  shake  hands  with  their 
friends  and  dear  ones,  though  a  twelve  month  and  more  had 
elapsed  since  they  took  the  field.  The  activity  of  a  perpetual 
"forward!"  seems  to  pervade  this  whole  army." 

Lincoln's  order  to  McDowell  to  "put  20>000  men  in  mo- 
tion," and  go  and  destroy  .Jackson,  will  he  re-called  by  the 
reader.  Here  is/the  manner  in  which  they  moved — the  para* 
raph  will  not  be  found  the  least  entertaining  of  those  here 
presented.  It  is  iVom  a  Yankee  correspondent,  whose  candor 
is  something  unusual : 

"Word  was  flashed  over  the  wires  from  Washington  that 
the  Philistines  were  upon  the  Congressional  Samsons,  and  we 

^Avere  summoned  to  the  rescue.  The  order  from  the  War  Pe- 
partment,  to  send  twenty  or  thirty  thousand  men  to  assist 
Uanks  and  defend  Washington,  pu<  an  entirely  new  lace  on 
matters,  and  knocked  the  plans  which  a  month  and  more  of 
time  and  millions  of  m>>,t<//  had  been  spent  in  maturing  into 
that  peculiarly  chaotic,  formless  and  void  shape  popularly 
known  and  described  as  a  cocked  hat.  As  McClellau  before 
had  been  served,  so  now  Avas  McDowell,  .*  *  AVe  found 
the  104th  Ncav  York  at  Catlett's  Station,  with  neither  tents, 
arms,  nor  clothing.  They  informed  us  that  Avhile  innocently 
encamped  at  Thoroughfare  Gap,  undreaming  of  impending 
evil,  word  came  to  them  from  the  War  Department  that  they 
were  utterly  surrounded  by  the  enemy,  with  an  order  to 
destroy  every  thin-  and  Call  back  upon  the  impregnable  forti- 
fications  and  wooden   guns  of   Manassas.      Bo  completely  did 

'  they  follow  out  this  edict  of  destruction,  burning  tents,  arms, 
equipments  and  every  thing  else,  that  the  only  wonder  is  they 
didn't  blow  out  their  own  brains — perhaps  they  would  if  they 
had  had  any. 

u  At  Markham  Station,  besides  rheumatic  pains.  I  encoun- 
tered Colonel  Ashby's  hojuse,  a  deserted  white-washed  tene- 
ment, with  battered  Avails  and  crumbling  staircases,  and  smell- 
ing strongly  of  secession  and  old  cheese.  From  Markham  to 
Front  lloyal  such  a  road  no  intelligent  gray  mare,  of  domestic 


LIFE   OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  i)  i 

habits  and  a  ruminative  and  rum  mating  turn  of  mind,  ever 
encountered  before.  I.  seems  as  though  all  the  men,  women 
ana*  children  of  the  country  had  spent  their  lazy  hours — 
which,  indeed,  would  include  the  whole  period  of  their  several 
existences — in  rolling  huge  stones  from  the  mountains  down 
into  the  roads.  If  the  war  ever  ends — and  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  in  the  fullness  of  time  it  will — let  me  suggest 
that  the  Virginians  of  this  section  be  punished  tor  their  con- 
tumacy by  being  made  to  pick  up  the  stones  and  with  them 
build,  in  some  less  inconveniencing  grouuds,  monuments  to 
fcheir  own  folly.  At  Front  Royal  we  found  Major-General 
McDowell  and  several  minor  generals.  They  were  all  de- 
termined upon  one  thing — that  thing  to  bag  Jackson  and 
re-capture  the  immense  train  he  took  from  .Banks — for  you 
ninst  know  that  Banks  lost  over  tv<>  nullwnt  of  dollar*  in 
property)  and  it  is  said-several  tliousand  prisoner*.  Well, 
then,  it  had  been  determined  to  retake  all  these  national  gods 
and  goods. 

*  *  u  A  word  about  Blenkcr's  division.  With  all  re- 
spect to  General  Blenker  himself,  whom  I  highly  esteem  as  a 
German  and  a  gentleman,  it  comprises  a  lawless  set  as  ever 
pillaged  hen  roosts  or  robbed  dairy  maids  of  milk  and  butter. 
I  saw  a  company  <»(*  them  gutting  the  cellar  of  a  house,  carry- 
ing off  every  thing  eatable  and  drinkable,  and  only  replying 
to  the  earnest  remonstrauee  «»{'  the  proprietary  widow,  and  the 
representation  that  she  had  seven  ehildreu  to  feed,  with  a 
guttural  nix  far  stay.  And  two  infantry  captains  bathed 
their  yellow  beards  in  the  golden  cream,  and  were  aiders  and 
abettors,  in  fact,  the  overseers  and  directors  of  the  larceny — 
not  to  say  brutality. 


u  Through  the  openiugs  between  the  trees  we  could  see 
our  brave  boys  surrounded  by  a  cordon  of  fire,  flashing  into 
them  from  the  muzzles  of  more  than  a  thousand  muskets.  But 
not  a  sign,  nor  the  shadow  of  a  sign  of  yieldiug.  Their  fire 
met  the  enemy's,  straight  and  unyielding  as  the  blade  of  a 
matador.  Oh,  for  reinforcements !  but  none  came.  *  * 
Now  our  "Bucktails"  give  back,  and  anon  they  break  cover 
and  retreat  across  the  fields  of  waving  green  between  us,  firing 
as  they  go — but  not  the  hundred  and  fifty  that  went  in.  The 
rest  of  them  lie  under  the  arching  dome  of  the  treacherous 


9Q  LIFE    OF   STONEWALL   JAfcKSON. 

forest,  and  the  night  dews  alone  can  go  to  moisten  the  lips  of 
the  wounded  ones,  for  the  rebels  hold  the  woods,  and  we  ;ye 
mot  now  prepared  to  dislodge  them.  To  send  a  force  to  their 
support  would  bring  on  a  general  engagement,  and  this,  in 
our  present  unprepared  condition,  would  be  ruin." 

We  have  s<vn  how  both  Fremont  and  Shields,  advancing 
Prom  the  east  and  the  w ■•■■!  to  intercept  and  close  in  upon 
the  rear  of  Jackson,  entirely  failed  in  their  object,  and  were 
completely  out-gencralcd.  Jackson  struck  Fremont  with  his 
right  wing  and  Shields  With  his  left;  stunned  both;  passed 
between  the  two  columns,  and  composedly  continued  his 
march  up  the  Valley. 

On  the  27th  of  May,  at  the  moment  when  Banks  was 
defeated  and  iu  full  retreat — when  the  heavy  column  from 
Fredericksburg  was  marching  toward  the  mountains,  and 
when  Lincoln  was  trembling  for  the  safety  of  Washington — 
Gen.  Johnston  wrote  to  Gen.  Jackson: 

"The  most  important  service  you  can  render  the  country 
is  the  preventing  the  further  strengthening  of  McClellau's 
army.  *  ,:  You  compel  me  to  publish  orders  announcing 
your  Buccesa  so  often,  that  you  must  expect  repetition  of 
expression." 

It  will  be  seen  that  these  instructions  were  carried  out. 
AVe   terminate  this  chapter  with   the  official   dispatch   of 
Gen.  Jackson,  announcing  the  victory  at  Winchester! 

"Wincmmstkr,  May  26$,  1862. 

Gen.  S.  Cooper,  Adjutant' General: 

During  the  last  three  days  God  has  blessed  our  arms 
with  brilliant  success.  On  Friday,  the  Federals  at  Front 
Royal  were  routed,  and  one  section  of  artillery,  in  addition 
to  many  prisoners,  captured.  On  Saturday,  Banks's  main 
column,  whilst  retreating  from  Strasburg  to  Winchester,  was 
pierced,  the  rear  part  retreating  towards  Strasburg.  On 
Sunday,  the  other  part  was  routed  at  this  place.  At  last 
accounts,  Brigadier-General  George  II.  Stewart  was  pursuing 


4  LIFE  OP  STONEWALL  JACKSON.  99 

with  cavalry  and  artillery,  and  capturing  the  fugitives.     A 

large  amount   of  medical,  ordnance  and  other   stores   have 
fallen  into  our  hands. 

(Signed)  T.  J.  Jackson, 

Major- General  Commandi}i</'.'' 


CHAPTER  XIV 

ILLUSTRATIONS — CROSS  KEYS  I    TORT  RErUBLIC. 

May  had  passed;  Juue  arrived — and  the  enemy  had  not 
succeeded  in  accomplishing  their  long  cherished  design  for 
the  destruction  of  the  rebel  armies,  and  the  occupation  of  the 
Confederate  Capital. 

McClclljjn's  huge  army  still  confronted  Richmond,  swing- 
ing to  and  fro  on  either  bank  of  the  Chickahominy — uneasy, 
dubious,  undetermined  what  course  was  best  for  it  to  pursue. 
A  few  days  after  the  battle  of  "Winchester,  a  portion  of  the 
Grand  Army  was  defeated  at  "Scv.cn  Pines,"  but  with  that 
genius  for  hoping  which  characterizes  these  people,  the  fall 
of  Richmond,  distinctly  in  sight,  with  its  roofs  and  spires,  was 
looked  forward  to  as  an  event  very  soon  to  take  place.  A 
portion  of  McDowell's  force,  it  is  true,  was  drawn  off  by  Jack- 
son, and  he  was  so  weakened  that  he  could  no  longer  hope  to 
effect  much  by  the  junction  with  3IcClellan's  right  wing  on 
the  Chickahominy — forming  the  famous  "  cordon  "  above  men- 
tioned ;  but  then  the  Capital  at  Washington  was  safe;  Presi- 
dent Lincoln's  terror  dissipated ;  and  the  government  there 
enabled  to  crowd  forward  all  their  spare  troops  to  the  Penin- 
sula. Fremont  and  Shields  would  soon  make  short  work  of 
the  daring  Jackson,  whose  lucky  star  would  speedily  be  ob- 
scured— that  General  would  be  driven  before  them  far  up  the 
Valley,  along  which  he  was  then  retreating;  their  combined 
armies  would  descend  like  a  thunderbolt  upon  the  rear  of  the 


LOO  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

unfortunate    Confederal    den  |   and   the  rebellion  would  be 
"  crushed  "  at  a  blow. 

.Such  was  the  .situation  of  affairs  early  in  June — McGlellan 
at  "Seven  Pines,"  within  four  or  live  miles  of  Richmond; 
McDowell  on  the  march  to  join  him;  Fremont  and  Shields 
pursuing  Jackson  hotly  up  the  Valley. 

We  have  seen  what  events  occurred  at  Ghtoss  Keys  and  Port 
Republic,  on  the  sih  and  9th  days  of  June,  at  the  very  mo- 
ment when  McOlellan,  perched  in  the  top  of  a  tall  free,  as 
some  of  their  writers  describe  him,  was  straining  his  eyes  to 
discern  the  columns  of  McDowell  on  the  horizon,  and  listen- 
ing for  the  tramp  of  Fremont's  legions  from  the  mountains 
Richmond  was  directly  in  his  front,  with  the/sunshine  on  it.< 
white  spires—"  the  finest  army  on  this  planet"  was  beneath 
him,  dull,  inactive,  resting  in  the  trenches  dug  out  from  the 
treacherous1  mud  of  the  Chickahoniiny  swamp.  ^Vll  thing; 
w<  re  stagnant. 

The  news  from  Port  Republic  came  to  break  this  languid 
siesta  of  the  Federals — and  we  have  seen  how  that  great 
battle  was  fought. 

We  proceed,  as  before,  to  give  some  of  the  details  which  we 
have  collected,  lor  the  entertainment  of  the  reader  now,  and 
the  information  of  the  future  historian,  who  will  gather  sedu- 
lously every  circumstance  relating  to  the  events  of  this  great 
period.  This  book  is  written  in  a  tent,  <>n  the  outpost  ;  the 
enemy  yonder,  almost  in  view — hut  with  Jackson,  alas  !  no 
longer  in  the  front.  The  real  historian  of  his  life  will  write  iu 
a  quiet  study,  in  the  tranquil  days  of  peace,  with  no  enemy, 
let  us  hope,  anywhere  in  view  on  all  the  vast  horizon  of  the 
Confederate  States. 

Pardou,  therefore,  friendly  reader  the  faults  of  these  pages, 
which  the  distant  roar  of  artillery  may  at  any  moment  inter- 
rupt the  writer  iu  tracing  —and  give  the  author  credit  for 
honesty,  il'not  for  style. 

Fremont  was  routed  at  Cros.s  Keys  on  the  £th  ol  June. 


LIFE    OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  101 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th,  Jackson  turned  like  a  lion  upon 
Shields  and  hurled  his  whole  column  upon  that  commander, 
with  the  results  which  we  have  seen.  The  following  details 
from  participants  in  the  battle  arc  interesting  : 

.  "  On  Monday  morning,  about  sun-rise,  our  forces  crossed  the 
bridge  at  the  junction  of  the  two  streams  to  attack  the  enemy, 
numbering  about  12,000,  under  Gen.  Shields,  the  river  here 
makes  a  bend  or  crescent  form,  circling  round  a  large  piece 
of  low  grounds,  on  which  there  was  a  heavy  crop  of  wheat. 
Nearly  opposite  the  bridge  and  on  the  other  side  of  This  field, 
the  enemy  were  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle,  and  in  their  front, 
on  a  small  hill,  at  the  foot  of  Cole  mountain,  commanding  the 
whole  position,  was  the  celebrated  Clark  battery,  (consisting 
of  8  splendid"  guns,  2  Parrott/2  mountain  howitzers,  and  4 
rifle  pieces,)  manned  by  the  artillery  corps,  under  command 
of Clark.  From  this  battery  was  belched  forth  one  in- 
cessant storm  of  grape,  canister  and  shell,  literally  covering 
the  valley,  so  that  the  work  of  attack  on  our  part  seemed 
almost  hopeless. 

u  Jackson,  Ewcll  and  Taylor  were  all  there,  and  their 
forces  eager  for  the  encounter.  But  it  seemed  rash  and  cveu 
desperate  to  attempt  it.  General  Jackson  looked  for  a  while 
thoughtfully  on  the  scene,  and  then  turning  to  Taylor,  en- 
quired, '  Can  you  take  that  battery  ? — it  must  be  taken  or  the 

\  *  day  be  lost.'  Taylor  replied,  <  we  can,'  and  pointing  his  sword 
to  the  battery,  called  out  to  his  men,  '  Louisianians,  can  you 

*  take  that  battery  V  With  one  universal  shout  that  made  the 
mountains  to  echo,  they  declared  they  could;  whereupon,  he 
gave  the  order  in  that  sonorous  voice,  'forward,  charge  the 
battery  and  take  it.'  Onward  dashed  the  Louisiana  brigade, 
composed  of  the  6th,  7th,  8th  and  9th  Louisiana  regiments, 
and  the  Tiger  Battalion,  assisted  by  one  Virginia  regiment, 
across  the  low  grounds  right  after  the  ba'tery.  From  its 
mouth  now,  with  renewed  violence,  poured  streams  of  shell 
and  sliotj*  mowing  down  our  men  like  grass.  The  earth 
seemed  covered  with  the  dead  and  wounclcd. 

"  The  gallant  Colonel  Henry  Hays,  commanding  the  9th 
Louisiana  regiment,  was  badly  wounded.  His  Lieutenant- 
Colonel,  Do  Choinc,  was  shot  through  the  lungs,  and  after 
agairflftud  a^aiu  endeavoring  to  hold  his  place  on  the  field, 


102  LIFE   pF   STONEWALL   MCKSON. 

praa  borne  off  almost  insensible.  This  regiment/K)ne  of  whose 
companies  was  led  by  Captain  i>.  A.  Wilson,  of 'jpur  town, 
carried  into  the  fight  but  three  hundred  and  eight  effective 
men,  the  rest  bsing  sick  or  detailed  on  other  service,  of whom 
one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  were  killed  orwounded.  Onward 
they  rushed,  sustained  by  the  6th,  8th,  9th,  the  Tigers,  under 
Hob  Wheat,  and  the  Virginia  regiment,  all  doing  their  duty 
like  heroes.  They  dare,  the  battery.  Volumes  on  volumes 
of  shot  continue  to  salute  their  advance — but  they  do  ad- 
vance. Ihey  strike  their  bayonets  and  sabres  into  the  artil- 
lerists as  they  serve  the  guns,  they  kill  the  horses,  they  seize 
the  guns,  they  take  t lie  battery,  and  the  victory  is  accom- 
plished. Proud  day  and  proud  honor  this  for  those  who  did 
this  gallant  deed!  Jackson,  Ewell  and  Taylor  were  present. 
cheering  on  the  light.  Every  officer,  nay,  every  man,  did  his 
duty,  the  enemy  Hying  in  dismay,  having  no  time  to  spike 
their  guns,  and  our  men  seize  and  direct  their  fire  against 
themselves"  This  was  one  of  the  most  glorious  battles  of 
this  war,  and  one  of  the  blooflicst. 

44  When  the  bloody  scene  was  over,  a  moment  is  spent  in 
thankfulness  to  (rod,  and  another  in  silent  rejoicing  at  the 
result.  General  Jackson  now  publicly  thanked  Taylor  and 
the  Louisiana  brigade  for  the  day's  work.  l Take  that  bat- 
tery,' said  Jackson  to  Taylor,  4 and  keep  it,  for  your  men 
have  won  it — carry  it  to  your  native  State  when  you  return, 
ami  call  it  the  Louisiana  batteiy,  and  let  it  be  kept  as  a  me- 
mento of  this  day." 

Another  correspondent  writes  as  follows  : 

*  *  *  "S3  much  lor  the  eventful  day  of  the  Sth. 
41  Like  the  great  Napoleon,  General  Jackson  determined  to 
fight  the  other  column  before  it  eould  effect  a  junction  with 
the  defeated  army.  Hence  ;\t  early  dawn  on  the  morning  of 
the  i)th,  (Monday)  our  brigade  was  in  motion.  Having 
crossed  the  river,  the  head  of  out  column  was  tuyied  down 
the  stream,  and  then  we  knew  there  was  bloody  work  in  store 
for  us.  About  a- mile  below  Port  Republic  we  came  in  view 
of  the  enemy's  batteries  in  position.  Then  General  Jackson, 
who  was  at  our  head,  ordered  ii{>  two  of  our  batteries,  the 
Alleghany  Boughs  and  Rockbridge.  But  the  Yankees  had 
every  advantage  in  position,  their  left  resting  on  the  ridges 


LllVi:    or    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  163 


of  the  mountain,  and  their  right  on  the  river.  Their  batte- 
ries were  planted  so  as  to  sweep  the  ridges  on  their  left  anil 
the  batteries  on  their  right,  so  the  position  of  our  guns  was  „ 
not  as  good  as  desirable.  However,  the  hour  for  action  has 
come,  and  the  battle  of  Port  Repmjblic  commences.  The 
Yankee  regiments  are  moving  into  line,  the  old  k  Stars  and 
Stripes'  can  be  distinctly  scon,  but  opposite  floats  proudjy 
and  defiantly  the  'Sic  Semper ''of  Virginia  and  the  banner  of 
our  Confederacy.  The  2d  and  4th  Virginia  first  moved  into 
position  on  the  enemy's  left  ;  the  r>th  and  27th  on  his  right, 
next  the  river.  Both  of  these.arc  exposed  to  a  heavy  artillery 
fire:  The  Louisiana  Brigade  and  part  of  the  3d  Virginia 
Brigade  now  move  into  line  also,  and  the  bloody  tragedy 
leuQes,  The.  cannonading  is  heavy,  and  the  rattle  of 
musketry  %  sharp,  especially  on  our  left.  The  enemy  fight 
well,  for  they  are  North-WCStern  men.  Our  left  wing  act  at  a 
great  disadvantage,  having  to  move  up  through  dense  thickets 
in  the  woods  ;  also,  the  enemy  sweep  the  ridges  with  canis- 
ter. A  shout  conies  up  from  the  centre.  'Tis  the  7th 
Louisiana  charging  oue  of  the.  enemy's  batteries.  They  take 
it,  but  arc  soon  driven  back  by  three  regiments  and  canister 
from  three  other  pieces.  In  the  meantime  the  tide  of  battle 
rages  in  the  bottom  next  the  river,  for  there  the  lighting  is 
desperate.  Nothing  is  now  heard  save  the  roar  of  artillery 
and  the  rattle  of  musketry.  A  loud  and  prolonged  shout 
now  bursts  on  the  ear.  It  comes  from  the  7th  and  Nth 
Louisiana,  who  have  again  charged  and  taken  the  enemy's 
battery  of  six  guns.  They  arc  splendid  in  a  charge  !  The 
enemy  feel  the  loss  of  their  guns  and  their  line  wavers^ 
Cheer  after  cheer  bursts  from  our  lines,  for  the  enemy  are^ 
giving  away.  Some  of  them  break  and  run,  but  others  re- 
treat in  tolerably  good  order.  The  cavalry  now  charge  down 
the  bottoms,  making  the  very  ground  quake  and  the  Yankees 
tremble.  The  Yankees  make  excellent  time,  the  rout  is 
complete,  and  the  field  is  ours  ! 

"  Those  arc  proud  moments  for  the  soldier,  when  he  stands 
victorious  on  the  bloody  field  and  sees  the  columns  of  the 
enemy  in  full  retreat.  We  pursued  them  about  six  miles,  the 
cavalry  much  farther,  capturing  a  large  number  of  prisoners. 
The  enemy's  loss  was  heavy,  and  ours  was  severe  too.  Y^et 
the  insolent  foe  was  repulsed,  and  to  gain  that  end  some  of 
the  best  and  the  bravest  bloocl  of  the  South  must  be  shed." 

* 


Lira  o»  Stonewall  JACKshn. 

A  trooper  writes  :  \ 

"flThia  has  been  a  week  of  exhaustion  and  toil  to  us — no<  i 

inoment  to  write.  "We  have  hud,  indeed,  little  time  even  to 
:•  sleep.  When  1  staggered  out  of  my  saddle  last  night, 
I  had  been  in  it  for  tliir! \ -six  hours,  including  the  whole  of 
the  night  previous.  !  slept  not  a  wink,  except  while  coining 
nip,  and  then  1  dozed  a  little  on  my  horse.  I  only  dis- 
mounted twice  during  the  period  stated,  and  then  for  short 
perio 

"  Yesterday,  we  had  I   terrific  battle  with  one  column  of 
the    enemy,   utterly   routing    him,  capturing    500    prisoners, 
of  artillery,  four  of  them   splendid   brass  rifled 
.  and  a  considerable  number  of  small  arms. 

^Jackson's  retreat,  now  safely  accomplished,  has  been  i 
more  brilliant  than  was  his  advance;  and  will  be  so  recorded  by 
hi  torians.  With  his  army  encumbered  with  the  spoils  of  the 
onemy  in  vast  quantities,  with  a  wagon  train  probably  seven 
or  eight  miles  long,  and  with  several  thousand  prisoners,  he 
has  retreated  before  an  enemy  numbering  20  to  10,000,  ad- 
vancing upon  him  by  different  roads,  and  under  the  lead  of 
five  or  six  Generals  of  distinction.  They  threatened,  at  every 
road  leading  into  the  Valley,  to  get  around  him,  aud  some- 
times came  near  doing  so,  but  General  Jackson  baffled  them 
at  every  point.  Always  calm  and  cool  himself,  he  kept  them 
i  ii  perpetual  excitement.  He  would  dash  like  a  lion  first  at 
our  and  then  at  another,  always  making  them  feel  his  fangs 
iji  a  vital  place,  till  their  very  caution  defeated  their  object. 

"  Yesterday  the   enemy  (and   our  own   army  agreed   with 
■  mm,  j  thought  they  had  entrapped  us.      We  were  in  a  narrow 
vall-y,  at  one  end  the  encmj  as  we,  and  at  the  other 

doubly  as  strong,  with  only  a  river  between  us  and  them. 
Jackson  whipped  the  smaller  column,  and  carried  off  the 
prisoners.  <\c,  in  the  very  presence  of  the  others,  while  they 
were  trying  to  cross  the  river.  To  do  so,  he  passed  to  this 
point  through  a  trail  in  the  mountain,  the  mouth  of  which 
cannol  be,  noticed  from  the  main  road,  or,  at  least,  it  would 
never  be  suspected  to  be  passable  for  an  army,  the  existence 
of  which  neither  the  cuem^upr  our  army  had  any  suspicion. 
I'ntil  we  i  I   thought  we  were  gone,  for  be- 

y 1  the  enemy  we  whipped  there  was  another  overwhelming 

force,  and  the  toad  in  the  direction  of  Port  llep\iblid  wlfljRi- 


LIFE   OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  lOb 

tirely  .commanded  by  the  other  large  force,  whom  we  cotild 
see  crowning  the  heights,  and  no  doubt  gnashing  their  teeth 
at  our  escape." 

The  story  of  Jackson  ordering  the  removal  of  one  of  the 
enemy's  guns  from  the  bridge,  and  when  his  order  was  obeyed 
by  the  Federal  cannoneers,  composedly  riding  by,  has  been 
often  repeated,  and  under  many  forms.  A  correspondent  of 
a  Northern  paper  gives  what  seems  to  be  a  truthful  version  of 
the  affair,  and  we  append  his  statement: 

"  Yesterday  I  met  Captain  Robinson,  of  Robinson's  battery, 
on  his  way  home  to  Portsmouth,  Ohio,  to  recruit.  He  was 
at  the  battle  of  Port  Republic,  where  his  brother  lost  three 
guns,  and  was  wounded  and  made  prisoner.  Capt.  Robinson, 
who  appears  to  be  a  very  modest  and  veracious  man,  relates 
that  while  he  was  working  one  of  his  guns,  Stonewall  Jack- 
sou,  whose  form  was  familiar  to  him,  came  within  easy  hailing 
distance,  and,  standing  erect  in  his  stirrups,  beckoned  with 
his  hand,  and  actually  ordered  him  to  '  bring  that  gun  over 
here/ 

"  Captain  Robinson  replied  by  eagerly  firing  three  shots  at 
the  ubiquitous  Presbyterian,  but  without  even  the  effect  of 
scaring  him.  'I  might  have  known,'  said  he,  'that  I  could 
not  hit  him.' 

"  Captain  Robinson  is  utterly  at  a  loss  to  explain  this  ex- 
traordinaiy  personal  demonstration  of  the  redoubtable  'Stone- 
wall.' Whether  he  mistook  him  for  one  of  his  own  men,  or 
that  some  incomprehensible  ruse  was  involved  in  the  act,  he 
does  not  pretend  to  guess.  Rut  one  thing  he  does  know,  that 
Stonewall  Jackson  is  the  great  man  of  the  war,  and  that  our 
troops  in  the  Valley  believe  him  to  be  as  humane  as  he  is 
rapid  and  daring."  % 

A  Southern  writer,  commenting  upon  the  above,  says : 

"  This  story  has  some  truth  in  it.  The  met,  as  w,e  believe, 
is  that  Jackson,  finding  that  this  gun  commanded  the  bridge 
which  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  pass,  for  once  in  his  life 
played  the  Yankee,  and,  riding  briskly  forward,  ordered  the 
gun  to  be  moved  to  another  place,  which  he  designated.  The 
ruse  succeeded.  The  Yankee  captain  limbered  up  and  com- 
menced moving  his  piece,  when  Old  Stonewall,  putting  spurs 


lt.Ml  *^         LU-E   OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON. 

to  his  1. ■.:■-■.  d.eln  d  across  the  bridge.  The  Vanke  •  discov- 
ered the  ruse,  and  let  1ly  with  his  pin,  hut  ii  >  late. 
It  was  ln.t  in  the  book  ol  fate  that  tlie  glorious  ehiel'tain 
should  fall  in  that  way.  We  devoutly  praythat  it  may  never 
be  his  lot  to  he  lost  to  us  by  the  hand  of  th«  enemy." 

Sad,  prophetic  wonjs !  "  Wc  devoutly  pray  that  it  may 
never  he  his  lot  to  he  lost  to  us  \,y  tin  hand  of  tJu  enemy" 
No  enemy's  hand  struck  down  the  peerless  soldier  at  last.  A 
chance  volley  from  the  Confederate  lines  laid  low  the  pride 
and  glory  of  the  Soutlj. 

Among  the  saddest  events  of  those  June  days  in  the  Valley 
was  the  death  of  Turner  Ashby.  We  find  many  allusions  to 
this  heroic  soul  in  the  letters  of  the  time;  and  the  figui 
the  cavalry  leader  on  his  milk- white  battle-horse  will  long 
remain  present  to  the  memory  of  those  who  saw  him.  That 
historic  steed  had  already  received  his  death  wound,  in  rela- 
tion to  which  we  find  the  following  paragraph: 

"  We  learn  that  the  gallant  Ashby,  a  few  days  ago,  whilst 
falling  bapk  before  the  enemy,  who  pursued  along  the  Valley 
turnpike,  alighted  to  aid  a  few  men  in  destroying  the  bridge 
across  the  Shenandoah.  The  last  caissoti  of  his  artillery  had 
thundered  by,  and  the  Yankee  cavalry  pursued  so  closely  that 
a  number  had  crossed  the  bridge  before  it  could  be  destroyed. 
Springing  upon  his  noble  grey  charger,  Ashby  sped  along  the 
turnpike,  followed  by  eight  of  the  enemy.  His  pistols  were 
unfortunately  empty,  and  he  had  no  resource  but  flight  The 
chase  continued  for  nearly  two  miles,  the  Yankees  tiring  at 
him  as  they  ran.  As  he  neared  a  place  of  safety,  two  of  the 
Yankees,  who-  had  outstripped  the  rest,  were  nearly  abreast 
•  of  him,  when  one  pf  them  was  shot  by  some  of  his  men,  alui 
the  other  was  killed  by  Ashby  with  his  sabre.  « 

"•During  the  latter  part  of  the  chase  a  shot  tired  by  a  long- 
range  -mi.  at  a  distance  of  nearly  half  a  mile,  struck  his 
horsfl  in  the  side  The  faithful  animal  continued  with  una- 
bated speed,  and  saved  his  rider,  but  the  wound  was  mortal. 
He  was  led  along  the  hueJtf  a  regiment  under  arms.  Our 
informant  says  he  never  imagined  so  magniiictnt  and  .spirited 
an  animal.      11  iow,  except  where  his; side  And 


LIFE   OP   STONEWALL   JACKSON,     j'  107 

legs  were  stained  with  his  owu  blood.  His  main  and  tail 
werelbng  and  flowing;  his  eye  and'action  evinced  distinctly  the 
rage  with  which  he  regarded  the  injury  he  had  received,  lie 
trod  the  earth  with  the  grandeur  of  a  Avonnded  lion,  and  every 
soldier  looked  6p3s  him  with  sympathy  and  admiration.  He 
had  saved  his  muster  at  the  cost  of  his  own  life.  lie  almost 
seemed  conscious  of  his  achievement,  and  only  to  regret  death 
because  his  own  injuries  were  not  avenged." 

The  noble  rider  was  soon  to  terminate  his  earthly  carter, 
also.  This  is  not  the  occasion  to  speak  of  this  brave  soul — 
this  noble  type  of  chivalric  Southern  manhood.  The  fame  uf 
Ashby  lives  fresh  and  green  in  every  heart,  and  the  wjrds  of 
Jackson's  report  will   be  his  epitaph  forever. 

As  before,  we  append  Jackson's  dispatch  announcing  the 
victory.     It  is  in  the  following  words  : 

Near  Port  REruBLrc,  June  9th,  ) 
Via  Staunton,  June,  10///.      ) 
Through   God's  blessing,   the  enemy  near  Port  Republic 
was    this  day    routed,    with    the  "loss    of  six    pieces    of    his 
artillery  T.  J.  Jackson, 

Major  General  Commanding. 

The  fall  of  Ashby  had  been  more  thau  avenged. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

JACKSON  IN    JUNE,  1S62.    , 

At  sunset,  on  the  9th  of  Juue,  the  campaign  of  the  Valley 
had  terminated. 

It  had  commenced  in  earnest  on  the  11th  of  March,  when 
Winchester ^ras  evacuated  before  the  column  of  nearly  50,000 
Federals  advancing  upon  the  place.  It  terminated  on  the  red 
day  of  Port  Republic,  when  Jack  on  routed  all  his  foes;  and 
remained  undisputed  master  V  the  regfou.jB^ 


108  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 


Thus  jhis  great  campaign  extended  over  a  period  qLexactly 
Jfee  months. 


Pi 

Those  three  months  will  shine  forever  in  our  annals,  bright 
with  the  light  of  heroism  and  victory.  The  astonishing  nerve, 
tie-  almost  superhuman  endurance,  the  dash,  the  skill,  the 
eliivalric  courage,  and  the  stubborn  resolution  of  the  little 
handful!  of  Confederates  and  their  great  leader,  will  render 
them  and  the  beautiful  region  of  the  Shenandoah  famous 
through  all  lime. 

Nothing  was  expected  of  Jackson.  It  is  as  well  to  state 
that  fact  here.  We  mean  that  none  but  those  who  had  seen 
and  known  him  well  in  Mexico  believed  that  he  would  accom- 
plish anything.  The  llomney  expedition  was  regarded  as  a 
hair-brained  project;  and  many  persons  did  not  hesitate  to 
express  their  convictions  of  a  want  of  sanity  on  the  part  of 
the  man  who  devised  it.  But  these  cavillers  were  soon  si- 
lenced. Kcrnstown  closed  some  mouths;  Winchester  and 
Port  Republic  quite  hushed  the  foolish  babbling  about  the 
great  leader.  9   i 

The  critics  began  to  understand  that  war  reveals  men  : 
falsifying  all  estimates  previously  made  of  them  in  the  quiet 
days  of  peace.  Jackson  was  regarded  as  a  common-place, 
somewhat  eccentric  "  professor/'  who,  by  some  singular 
chance,  at  an  early  period  in  his  life,  had  blundered  into  the 
arena  of  arms.  A  command  was  entrusted  to  him  by  those 
who  knew  him  Letter,  and  the  result  is  before  the  world. 
He  haw  surrounded  the  name  of  his  native  land,  Virginia, 
with  a  halo  of  glory  brighter  than  all  past-revolutionary  glo- 
ries ; — and  to-day  is  only  second  to  the  greatest  name  of  all. 

The  campaign  of  the  Valley,  upon  which,  as  we  have  said, 
hi-  i'aii:r  will  chiefly  rest,  will  be  studied  by  military  men, 
through  all  coming  time,  as  the  campaigns  of  (kesar  and 
Napoleon  ape  studied — as  the  recorded  work  of  a  master  in 
the  art  of  war.  For  this  class,  Jackson  will  always  remaitf? 
one  of  the  I^§s  of  Battle.     Combat  was  the  element  in 


LIFE  OP   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  109 

which  his  great  soul  breathed  freely.,  and  he  made  war  with 
the  air  of-  one  "  to  the  manner  born."  His  astounding  marches ; 
his  rapid  advances  and  masterly  retreats ; '  his  furious  on- 
slaughts before  which  no  enemy  could  stand,  and  his  sudden 
disappearance  when  the  enraged  foe  brought  againsl  him  over- 
whelming odds )  the  manner  in  which  he  executed"  all  these 
movements;  the  provoking,  baffling,  incredible  strategy  which 
he  brought  to  bear  upon  the  enemy — have  made  his  name 
and  fame  as  a  leader  of  men  immortal  in  the  annals,  of  the 
South.  The  children  and  children's  children  of  the  present 
generation  will  point  out,  on  the  map  of  Virginia  the  posi- 
tions of  Kernstown,  and  Winchester,  and  McDowell,  anjj.  Port 
Republic — classic  names  forever  now,  since  Jackson  associated 
them  with  his  glory. 

We' leave  to  the  historian  of  the  future  the  task  of  narrating 
this  great 'campaign  in  all  its  splendid  details — to  tell  in  terms 
which  "  mount  to  the  height  of  the  great  argument "  how 
Jackson  marched,  and  planned  and  fought ;  how  lie  conquered 
at  Bath,  Romney,  Kernstown,  Front  Royal,  Middletowii,  Win- 
chester, Charlestown,  Strasburg,  McDowell  and  elsewhere ; 
how  he  fell  upon  the  enemy  finally  at  Port  Republic,  whipped 
him  in  two  battles,  and  drove  Shields  and  Fremont,  as  he  had 
driven  Milroy  and  Banks,  to  ignominious  flight.  Here  we 
only  touch  upon  the  great  contests,  as  upon  the  man  who  fought 
them.  In  the  campaign  of  March-June,  1862,  Jackson  dis- 
played all  his  faculties  fully — his  far-seeing  generalship ;  his 
prudent  boldness ;  his  indomitable,  vice-like  resolution  and 
tenacity  of  purpose,  which  no  storm  could  shake,  no  peril  af- 
fect. Under  the  calm  and  simple  exterior  of  the  man  was  a 
soul  that  was  not  born  to  bend — a  will  which  shrunk  from 
nothing,  and  broke  down  every  obstacle  opposed  to  •  it.  To 
say  that  no  braver  man  everMived,  is  to  Say  little.  Nothing 
is  better  established  than 'the  fact  that  Jackson  loved  danger 
^tfor  its  own  sake — a  point  which  we  propose  to.  return  to — but 
this  common  courage  which  cj^es  -not  recoijgfrom  the  hissing 
6    >. 


110  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

ball  or  the  bursting  shell,  was  not  the  courage  of  Jackson. 
His  stern  resolution  was  deeper  and  stronger.  What  marked 
hira  as  one  of  the  "men  of  fate"  was  his  astonishing  equa- 
nimity in  the  face  of  perils  which  would  have  overwhelmed 
other  men;  his  cool  determination  not  to  "give  up;" "his  re- 
fusing to  entertain  the  idea  that  he  could  be  defeated.  At 
Manassas  he  surveyed  with  utter  calmness  the  terrible  spec- 
taclc  oj  the  Confederate  lines,  reeling  back  before  the  Federal 
hosts,  pressing  down  with  their  enormous  reserves  of  infantry 
and  artillery  j  and  when  Gen.  Bee,  with  uncontrollable  an- 
guish in  his  voice,  told  Jackson  that  the  day  was  going  against 
them,  his  cold  reply  was — "  Sir,  we  will  give  them  the  bayo- 
onet."  The  last  words  of  the  brave  South  Carolinian  tell  how 
he  fought  his  old  brigade.  He  stood  "  like  a  stone  wall  " — 
as  stern,  stubborn  and  immovable.  At  Kernstown,  when  a 
portion  of  his  line  gave  back  before  the  overwhelming  numbers 
assailing  it,  he  took  his  stand  close  to  the  enemy,  amid  a  storm 
of  bullets — called  to  a  drummer  boy — and  placing  his  hand 
firmly  upon  the  boy's  shoulder,  said  in  his  brief,  curt  tones*— 
"  Beat  the  rally  /"  The  rally  was  beaten ;  Jackson  remained 
by  the  drummer's  side,  holding  him  to  his  work  with  the  in- 
exorable hand  upon  the  shoulder — the  rally  continued  to  roll, 
and  the  line  was  speedily  reformed. 

The  writer  of  these  lines  has  seen  Gen.  Jackson  in  several 
great  battles,  when  the  "revel  of  death"  was  at  its  height, 
and  the  fate  of  the  day  hung  suspended  in  the  balance — but 
he  never  saw  the  great  soldier  show  the  least  agitation  or 
doubt  of  the  result.  At  Fredericksburg,  his  cheeks  glowed 
and  his  eyes  had  the  "  war  look  " — but  that  was  late  in  the 
evening,  when  he  had  ordered  his  whole  line  to  advance  and 
attack  with  the  bayonet.         J> 

This,  however,  is  not  the  appropriate  place  for  a  character- 
ization of  Jackson.  We  reserve  that  for  the  concluding  pages 
of  our  work.  At  present,  other  great  events  demand  atten- 
tion, for  the  victor  of  Winchester  and  Porff*Republic;  without 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  Ill 

■J 
pausffng,  enters  upon  another  struggle  on  a  new  arena.  The 
valley  is  exhausted — every  portion  of  its  highways  and  bye- 
ways  has  been  trodden  by  the  "  Foot  Cavalry "  until  they 
know,  and  attach  sad  or  pleasant  recollections — memories  of 
fatigue  and  suffering,  or  rest  and  refreshment — to  every  stone 
and  bank  and  spreading  tree  upon  the  roadside;  the  mountains 
are  left  behind,  and  the  old  Stonewall  Brigade,  with  their 
comrades,  led  by  their  idolized  chief,  set  out  for  fresh  fields  of 
combat  in  the  lowlands. 

Biographies  are  lame  and  incomplete  affairs  when  they  only 
contain  events  and  dates.  These  are  the  skeleton ;  bjit  the 
skeleton  expresses  no  individuality.  What  is  needed,  in  ad- 
dition, is  the  flesh  and  blood — the  flashing  eye  and  the  elo- 
quent lip.  Events  and  dates  are  valuable  for  reference,  but 
personal  details  make  the  picture  which  impresses  the  feel- 
ings and  dwells  in  the  memory,  for  meditation,  example  and 
instruction. 

AVe  have  seen  what  Jackson  accomplished.  Let  us  now 
endeavor  to  see  what  manner  of  man,  outwardly,  it  was  who 
thus  overthrew  all  his  enemies,  and  built  himself  a  name 
which  is  the  echo  of  glory  and  victory.  How  such  men  look 
is  interesting — how  they  dress  and  appear  among  their  fellow 
men.  Jackson's  costume  and  deportment  were  unique,  and 
have  doubtless  contributed  in  *ome  degree  to  that  amazing- 
individuality  which  he  has  secured  in  the  popular  mind. 
The  writer  of  these  lines  first  saw  him  soon  after,  the  battle 
of  Port  Republic,  and  can  thus  present  an  outline  of  the 
great  athlete,  as  he  appeared,  all  covered  with  the  dust  of 
the  arena,  whereon  Banks  and  his  compeers  had  been  over- 
thrown by  him.  Jackson  was  in  his  fighting  costume  at  the 
moment;  it  was  the  conqueror  of  the  Valley  who  moved  be- 
fore us ;  and,  to  complete  the  picture,  he  had,  atTOie  moment 
when  we  fiast  encountered  him,  his  u  war-look  on  n — was  in 
.  his  veritable  element. 

The  outward  afjpearance  of  the  famous  leader  was  not  im- 


ji2  LIFE    OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

posing.  The  popular  idea  of  a  great  General  is  an  individual 
of  stiff  and  stately  bearing,  elad  in  splendid  costume,  all 
covered  with  gold  lace  and  decorations,  who  prances  by  upon 
:i  mettled  charger,  mid  moves  on,  before  admiring  crowds,  ac- 
companied by  his  glittering  staff,  and  grand  in  all  the  magnifi- 
■  of  high  command.  The  figure  of  General  Stonewall 
Jaokson  was  singularly  different  from  this  popular  fancy  i  He 
wore  an  old  sun-embrowned  coat  of  grey  cloth,  originally  a 
very  plain  one,  and  now  almost  out  at  elbows.  To  -call  it  , 
sun-embrowned,  however,  is  scarcely  to  convey  an  adequate 
idea  of  the  extent  of  its  discoloration.  It  had  that  dingy 
hue,  the  result  of  exposure  to  rain  and  snow  and  scorching 
sunshine,  which  is  so  unmistakable,  It  was  plain  that  the 
General  had  often  stretched  his  weary  form  upon  the  bare 
ground,  and  slept  in  the  old  coat;  and  it  seemed  to  have 
brought  away  with  it  no  little  of  the  dust  of  the  Valley.  A 
holiday  soldier  would  have  disdained  to  wear  such  a  garb  ; 
but  the  men  of  the  Old  Stonewall  Brigade,  with  their  brave 
comrades  of  the  corps,  loved  that  coat,  and  admired  it  and  its 
owner  more  than  all  the  holiday  uniforms  and  holiday  warriors 
in  the  world.  The  remainder  of  the  General's  costume  was 
as  much  discolored  as  the  coat — he  wore  cavalry  boots  reach- 
ing to  the  knee,  and  his  head  was  surmounted  by  an  old  cap, 
more  faded  than  all ;  the  sun  had  turned  it  quite  yellow  in- 
deed, and  it  tilted  forward  so  far  over  the  wearer's  forehead, 
that  he  was  compelled  to  raise  his  chin  in  the  air,  in  order  to 
look  under  the  rim.  His  horse  was  not  a  "  fiery  [steed  "  paw- 
ing, and  ready  to  dart  forward  at  "  the  thunder  of  the  Cap- 
tains and  the  shouting,"  but  an  old  raw-boned  sorrel,  gaunt 
and  grim — a  horse  of  astonishing  equanimity,  who  seemed  to 
give  himself  no  concern  on  any  subject,  and  calmly  moved 
about,  lik^his  master,  careless  of  cannon  ball  or  bullet,  in 
the  hottest  moments  of  battle. 

•  The  General  rode  in  a  peculiar  fashion,  leaning  forward 
somewhat,  and  apparently  unconscious  tha£  he  was  in  the  sad- 


LIFE -OF  STONEWALL  JACKSON.  ll3 

die.  His  air  was  singularly  abstracted;  and,  unless  aware  of  his 
identity,  no  beholder  would  have  dreamed  that  this  plainly 
clad  and  absent-looking  soldier  was  the  idoli^d  leader  of  a 
great  army  corps,  at  that  very  instant  hurling  themselves, 
column  after  column,  upon  the  foe. 

The  glittering  eye  beneath  the  yellow  cap  would  have  al- 
tered somewhat  the  impression  that  this  man  was  "a  nobody  " 
— that  wonderful  eye,  in  whose  blaze  Ifcas  the  jevidcne#  of  a 
slumbering  volcano  beneath  ;  but  beyond  this,  there  was  ab- 
solutely nothing  in  the  appearance  of  General  Jackson  to  in- 
dicate his  great  rank  or  genius  as  a  soldier. 

Such  was  the  outward  man  of  the  famous  general,  as  he 
appeared  soon  after  the  campaign  of  the  Valley — and  this 
plainness  of  exterior  had  in  no  small  degree  endeared  him  to 
his  soldiers.  His  habits  were  still  greater  claims  on  the  re- 
spect and  regard  of  the  best  men  of  his  command.  He  was 
known  to  be  wholly  free  from  all  those  vices  which  arc  the 
peculiar  temptation  of  a  military  life.  He  lived  as  plainly  as 
his  men,  and  shared  all  their  hardships,  never  for  a  moment 
acting  upon  "the  hypothesis  that  his  rank  entitled  him  to  any 
luxury  or  comfort  which  they  could  not  share.  His  food  was 
plain  and  simple ;  his  tent,  when  he  had  one,  which  was 
seldom,  -n%  better  than  those  of  the  men ;  he'would  wrap  hint- 
self  in  his  blankets  and  lie  down  under  a  tree  or  in  a  fence 
corner,  with  perfect  content,  and  apparently  from  preference ; 
for  to  fight  hard  and  live  hard  seemed  to  be  his  theory  of 
war.  .  He  was  a  devout  Christian,  and  rarely  allowed  passion 
to  conquer  him ;  when  he  yielded,  it  was  on  exciting  occa- 
sions, and  when  great  designs  were  thwarted  by  negligeuce  or 
incapacity  on  the  part  of  those  to' whom  their  execution  was 
entrusted.  Such  occasions  seldom  occurred,  and  Jackson's 
habitual  temper  of  mind  was  a  gentle  and  childlike  sweetness  ; 
a  simplicity  and  purity  of  heart,  which  proved  that  he  had 
indeed  become  "  as  a  little  child  " — walking  humbly  and  de- 
voutly before  his  God.     Prayer  was  like  breathing  with  him — 


114  LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

the  normal  condition  of  his  being.  Kvery^hiorning  be  read  his 
Bible  and  prayed,  and  the  writer  will  not  soon  forget  the  pic- 
ture drawn  by  one  of  his  distinguished  as  WTO  R>de 
to  his  headquarters  at  daylight,  last  November,  when  the 
army  was  lalling  back,  to  Fredericksburg  frpm  the  Valley,  and 
found  him  reading  hia  Testament}  quietly  in  his  tent,  an  oc- 
cupation which  he  only  interrupted  to  describe,  in  tones  of 
e,uiet  simplicity,  his  upended  movements  to  foil  the  enemy. 
Before  sitting* down. to  table  he* raised  both  bands,  and  said 
grace.  When  he  contemplated  any  movement  his  old  ser- 
vant is  said  to  have  always  known  it  by  his  "  wrestling  in 
prayer  V  for  many  hours  of  the  night ;  and  on  the  battle-iield 
thousands  noticed  the  singular  gesture  with  the  right  arm, 
sometimes  both  arms,  raised  aloft.  Those  who  looked  closely 
at  him  at  such  moments  saw  his  lips  moving  in  prayer.  Bike 
Joshua,  he  prayed  with  uplifted  hand  for  victory  ! 

Napoleon  trusted  in  his  star;  Jackson  in  God.  In  the 
great  scenes  through  which  we  shall  now  see  him  pass,  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts  will  be  clearly  revealed,  according 
to  the  true  Soldier  of  the  Cross,  full  triumph  over  all  the 
enemies  of  his  country. 


CHAPTBB  XVI. 

COLD  HARBOUR. 

In  the  latter  part  of  June,  the  writer  of  these^  lines  was 
entrusted,  for  delivery  to  a  confidential  messenger,  witj^  a-des- 
pateh  addressed  "  (Jen.  T.  J.  Jackson,  somewhere." 

™  Somewhere "  was,  at  that  moment,  as  upon  many  pre- 
vious occasions,  the  only  known  address  of  the  rapidly  moving 
and  reticent  commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Valley. 

Jackson   was   on   his   march   to  join  Gen.  Lee.     Having 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  ;     115 

publicly  directed  his  Engineer  to  furnish  him,  speedily,  with 
maps  of  the  country  about  Lexington,  and  thus,  after  a 
fashion  common  with  him,  thrown  all  speculators,  as  to  his 
intended  movements,  off  the  scent,  he  had,  on  the  17th  of 
June,  commenced  his  march  toward  Tide-water.  General 
Robertson's  Cavalry  Brigade,  with  Chew's  battery,  was  left  at 
Harrisonburg,  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy  in  that 
direction,  and  check  him,  if  he  again  advanced  upon  Staun- 
ton;  and  with  the  rest  of  his  corps,  Col.  Munford's  cavalry 
bringing  up  the  rear,  Jackson  pushed  foiward,  reaching  the 
neighborhood  of  Ashland,  about  sixteen  miles  from  Rich- 
mond, on  the  25th  of  June. 

Jackson's  corps  at  this  time  consisted  of  General  Whiting's 
Division,  embracing  General  Hood's  3d  Brigade,  Colonel  Law 
cpmmanding,  with  the  batteries  of  Reilly  and  Balthis ;  Gen. 
,  Ewell's  Division,  4th  Brigade,  General  Elzey ;  7th  Brigade, 
General  Trimble;  8th  Brigade,  Colonel  Seymour;  and  the 
Maryland  Line,  Colonel  Johnson,  with  the  batteries  of  Brock- 
enbrough,  Carrington  and  Courtney;  Jackson's  (old)  Division, 
1st  Brigade,  ("  Stonewall/')  General  Winder ;  2d  Brigade, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Cunningham;  3d  Brigade,  Colonel  Ful- 
kerson;"4th  Brigade,  General  Lawton;  and  the  batteries  of 
Poague,  Carpenter  and  Wooding.  These  veterans,  who  had 
met  and  overthrown  the  enemy  on  so  many  battle-fields  of 
the  Valley,  were  now  on  their  rapid  march  to  join  Lee  on  the 
banks  of  the  Chickahominy,  and  try  their  mettle  upon  Gen. 
McClellan. 

The  position  of  the  opposing  armies  of  Lee  and  McClellan, 
at  the  moment  when  Jackson  was  sent  for,  is  familiar  to  every 
boy  in  the  Confederate  States ;  for  so  intense  was  the  interest 
felt  in  the  movements  of  these  two  great  gladiators,  about  to 
contend,  front  to  front,  for  the  possession  of  the  Southern 
Capital,  that  even  the  children  of  the  land  knew  the  position 
of  affairs.  McClellan  had  crossed  a  portion  of  his  army  to 
the  right  bank  of  th.3  -Chickahominy,  and  advanced  within 


116  Llri^OJ:'    M.'MIUAI.L    JACKSON. 

'  %  ■ 

four  or  live  miles  of  Richmond,  elaborately  fortifying  and* 
guarding  his  flanks.  On  the  left  or  north  bank  of  the  stream, 
the  remainder  of  his  army  was  strongly  posted  on  the  "heights 
flPbm  Meadow  Bridge,  nearly  due  north  of  the  oity,  to  Bot- 
Bridge,  nearly  due  cast.  The  Federal  position  thus  re- 
sembled a  crescent,  some  twenty  miles  in  extent,  which  the 
Chickahotniny  intersected  near  the  lower  extremity. 

::oral  Johnston  had  struck  at  the  Federal  left,  near 
Seven  Fines,  and  driven  him  back  on  the  last  day  of  May. 
Wounded  in  the  action,  this  accomplished  soldier  had  yielded 
the  command  to  General  Lee;  and  the  design  of  again jissail- 
ing  the  enemy  without  delay,  was  speedily  adopted  by  that 
•  General.  A  flank  movement  against  McClellan's  right,  be- 
yond the  (Jhickahominy,  was  determined  upon;  and  as  Jack- 
son, with  his  invincible  corps,  had  just  disembarrassed  himself 
of  Shields  and  Fremont,  he  was  ordered  by  the  Commander- 
in-Chief  to  hasten  forward  from  the  Valley,  and  passing  by 
way  of  Ashland  toward  Cold  Harbour,  attack  the  enemy  in 
flank  and  reverse,  while  the  main  body  of  the  army  assailed 
hi  in  in  front. 

On  the  morning  of  the  26th,  the  great  plans  of  Lee  began 
to  unfold  themselves,  and  the  immense  drama  commenced- 
Tiie  enemy  were  driven  off  at  the  point  where  the  Brooke 
turnpike  crosses  the  Chickahominy,  and  Brigadier-General 
Branch,  crossed,  directing  his  march  to  form  a  junction  with 
General  A.  F.  Hill,  who  had  crossed  at  Meadow  Bridge. 
Hill  engaged  the  enemy  at  Mechanicsville,  and  stubbornly 
held  his  ground  until  night,  when  the  enemy  retired  from  his 
position  there,  and  fell  bsok  upon  the  main  body  at  Gaines' 
Mill.  The  way  having  been  thus  cleared, 
street's  i  insisting  of  his  veteran  Division, 

Guard  of  the  Army  o/ the  Potomac,  and  Gencn 
Division,  debouched  from  the  woods  on  the  south  side  of  the 
stream,  crossed,  and  took  position  on  the  left  bank. 

Meanwhile  Jackson  had  steadily  advanced,  preceded  and 


,  General  Long- 
ivision,  the*QlcT 
icral  D.  II.  Hill's 


« 


LIFE   OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  117 

guarded  on  his  left  by  Stuart's  cavalry,  toward  Cold  Har- 
bour, oa  the  enemy's  right  and  rear.  General  Whiting's 
Division  held  the  advance,  and  the  Federal  forces  retired  be- 
fore him.  At  Tottapotomoi  creek,  a  sluggish  stream,  with 
abrupt  banks,  heavily  wooded,  the  enemy's  picket  felled  trees 
across  the  road,  and  destroyed  the  bridges.  Hood  threw  for- 
ward some  of  his  Texas  skirmishers,  however,  Capt.  Rcilly 
opened  with  his  guns,  and  the  enemy  disappeared.  "Whiting 
quickly  repaired  the  bridges,  the  army  resumed  its  march, 
and  still  skirmishing  and  driving"  the  Federals,  bivouacked 
for  the  night  at  Hundley's  Corner.  Jackson,  following  the 
orders  of  General  Lee,  had  thus  borue  away  from  the  Chicka- 
hoininy,  where  the  reverberating  roar  of  artillery  indicated 
the  progress  of  a  great  battle — had  gained  ground  toward  the 
Panmnkcy,  driving  all  before  him — and  was  now  in  a  position 
to"  descend,  next  day,  like  a  thunderbolt  on  the  enemy  at 
Cold  Harbour,  attacking  with  his  fresh  troops,  and  deciding 
the  fate  of  the  day. 

The  great  day  arrived,  clear  and  cloudless.  Jackson, 
gradually  converging  toward  the  Chickahominy  again,  and 
advancing  steadily,  with  Ewcll  in  front,  drove  the  enemy  be- 
fore him,  surmounted  every  obstacle  which  they  had  placed 
upon  the  roads  to  bar  his  progress,  and  about  five  in  the  after- 
noon reached  Cold  Harbour. 

Not  a  moment  was  lost  in  making  his  dispositions  for  bat- 
tle. Stuart,  with  his  cavalry,  was  posted  on  the  left  to  charge 
and  intercept  the  enemy  if  they  attempted  to  retreat  in  the 
direction  of  the  Pamunkcy;  and  hardly  had  line-of-battle 
been  formed,  when  heavy  firing  on  the  right  indicated  that 
Gen.  4-.  P.  Hill,  who  had  gone  in  that  direction,  was  hard 
pressed.  Jackson  immediately  ordered  a  general  advance  of 
his  entire  corps,  which  hastened  forward,  Whiting's  Division 
on  the  right  of  the  line,  and  Jackson's,  EwelPs  and  D.  H. 
Hill's,'  in  the  order  named,  from  right  to  left. 

The  welcome  sound  of  Jackson's  guns  came  to  Lee  and 
6* 


lis  i.ii  i;  ,,F    STONE^LL   JACKSON. 

Lomrstivct  ;:>  they  wore  hastening  forward  from  Gaines' 
Mill,  and  the  entire  Confederate  force  oh  tlie  ld't  bank  of  the 
CMckaihominy,  "which  had  only  awaited  tl.e  arrival  of  Jack- 
son, advanced  in  one  wild  charge,  and  the  battle  began  to 
rage  with  a  rury,  until  then  unknown. 

We  do  not  attempt  a  general  account  of  this  mighty  con- 
tent— that  is  left  to  the  historian  nf  the  war.  We  confine 
out  net  ices  of  events  to  the  part  taken  in  the  battle  by  Gen. 
Jackson's  Corps. 

The  position  of  the  enemy  in  his  front  was  a  powerful  One, 

and  nothing  hut  hard,  stubborn  lighting  eould  carry  it.  The 
Federals  were  posted  on  a  ridge  nearly  parallel  to  the  Chicka- 
homiuy — their  right  resting  near  Met  ice's  house,  their  left 
on  a  bluff,  bristling  with  artillery,  and  protected  by  a  deep 
ravine,  and  double  line  of  breastworks.  Iu  their  front  a 
swamp  and  sluggish  stream,  a  wood  of  tangled  undergrowth, 
and  heavy  masses  of  felled  timber,  made  successful  attack 
almost  hopeless.  Jackson  ordered  Gen.  1).  H.  llill  to  make 
the  assault  on  the  left,  and  it  was  done  with  great  gallantry 
aud  success.  The  men  rushed  through  the  swamp,  tangled 
underwood,  and  felled  trees,  in  face  of  a  heavy  fire  ;  and  after 
a  fierce  and  bloody  contest,  drove  the  enemy  back  on  their 
reserve.  They  took  position  behind  a  fence  and  ditch  ;  and 
Hill  determined  to  press  on,  when  his  attention  was  called  to 
a  battery  which  was  so  posted  as  to  pour  a  destructive  enfi- 
lading fire  upon  his  advancing  line.  It  was  necessary  first  to 
silence  this  battery;  and  Col.  Iverson,  with  the  1st,  3d  and 
20th  North  Carolina,  charged  and  captured  it.  The  enemy 
immediately  attacked  him  in  force,  and  succeeded  in  recap- 
turing the  guns,  but  not  until  Gen.  Hill  had  advanced  over 
the  dangerous  ground,  and,  supported  by  the  "  Old  Stonewall 
Brigade,"  under  Gen.  Winder,  was  engaged  in  an  obstinate 
contest  with  the  ^entire  Federal  force  in  front  of  him. 

Meanwhile,  Gen.  Ewell  had  a  hard  fight  upon  Gen.  Hill's 
right.     The   same  obstacles   barred  his  advance   upon   the 


LIFE   OF  STONEWALL  JACKSON.  110 

enemy's  position,  but  he  charged  through  the  swamp,  up  the 
hill  in  face  of  a  terrible  fire,  and  fought  with  that  daring 
which  had  so  often  excited  the  admiration  of  his  commander. 
Reinforced  by  Lawton  and  Trimble,  Gen.  Ewell  continued 
the  struggle  until  dusk,  when  his  ammunition  being  com- 
pletely exhausted,  he  fell  back. 

Jackson's  old  Division  was  the  third  in  the  line,  counting 
from  left  to  right,  and  was  held  as  a  species  of  reserve,  to  be 
sent  to  the  support  of  any  part  of  the  line  which  was  hard 
pressed.  The  1st  "Stonewall"  Brigade  moved  on  the  ene- 
my's front  through  the  swamp,  so  frequently  mentioned,  and 
did  some  of  the  hardest  fighting  of  the  whole  day.  The 
enemy  contended  with  especial  obstinacy  for  the  possession  of 
the  ground  at  this  point,  which  was  the  key  of  his  position; 
and  the  roar  of  his  artillery  and  musketry,  as  his  fire  con- 
verged upon  it,  was  appalling.  Jackson  said  that  night,  in 
the  hearing  of  the  writer,  that  it  was  '•  the  most  terrible  fire 
of  musketry  he  ever  heard,"  and  all  who  heard  it  will  rc- 
(.'o- liizc  the  truth  of  the  description.  The  old  brigade  did 
not  flinch  from  the  ordeal.  Under  its  brave  leader,  Gen. 
Charles  Winder,  it  moved  steadily  on,  amid  the  tempest  of 
projectiles,  •  and  driving  the  enemy  from  point  to  point, 
stormed  his  last  position,  three  hundred  yards  beyond  Mc- 
Gec's,  with  the  bayonet.  The  2d  Brigade  was  sent  to  rein- 
force Gen.  Wilcox,  at  his  own  request,  but  arrived  too  late 
to  take  part  in  the  engagement.  The  3d  Brigade,  sent  to 
support  Whiting,  also  came  too  late.  The  4th  Brigade  took 
part  in  the  general  charge  late  in  the  evening. 

Gen.  Whiting's  Division,  which  held  the  right  of  Jackson's 
line,  advanced  through  the  wood  and  swamp,  in  face  of  a 
murderous  fire.  Hood's  4th  (Texas)  Brigade  charged  with 
a  loud  yell,  and  rushing  down  the  precipitous  ravine,  leaping 
ditch  and  stream,  pressed  forward  over  the  enemy's  abattis, 
and  every  obstruction,  driving  all  before  them.  They  lost 
1,000  men,  but  they  took  14  pieces  of  cannon,  nearly  a  regi- 


120  LIFE    OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

jnent  of  prisoners,  and  strewed  the  ground  with  the  Federal 
!t  waa  of  the  Tcxans  that  Jackson,  on  the  next  day, 
said,  as  he  surveyed  the  ditch  and   al  er  which  they 

had  charged  :  u  The  mien  who  carried  this  position  were  sol- 
diers indeed." 

The  movemente  which  we  have  thus  related  in  sequence, 
place  together,  all  along  the  Line.  It  was  a  close,  almost 
hand-to-hand  encounter  on  our  part,  with  small  arms  only — 
but  with  one  striking  exception.  The  only  artillery  used  was 
that  of  Capt.  John  Pelham,  of  the  Stuart  Horse  Artillery. 
Pelham  was  sent  forward  with  two  guns,  a  Blakely  and  Napo- 
leon, to  a  position  in  advance  of  the  old  Cold  Harbour  House, 
and  ordered  to  engage  the  enemy's  batteries  on  the  eminence 
in  front,  diverting  their  fire  from  Hill,  and  the  Stonewall  Bri- 
gade. Capt.  Pelham  performed  this  important  duty  with  a 
gallantry  and  nerve  which  extorted  the  admiration  of  all  who 
witnessed  the  affair.  He  opened  upon  the  heavy  batteries  of 
the  enemy  at  close  range  with  unfaltering  resolution;  and 
though  his  Blakely  gun  was  soon  disabled  and  obliged  to  be 
withdrawn,  he  continued  to  fight  the  batteries  in  front  with 
his  one  Napoleon,  directing  the  management  of  the  gun  in 
person,  and  holding  his  ground  with  that  stubborn  courage 
which  afterwards  immortalized  the  young  artillerist  at  Fred- 
ericksburg. The  diversion  produced  by  the  galling  and  per- 
sistent fire  of  the  Napoleon  was  exceedingly  important  in  its 
effect  upon  the  fortunes  of  the  day  •  and  other  batteries  having 
been  brought  up  and  put  in  action  at  the  same  point,  the  ene- 
my's tire  began  sensibly  to  slacken.  «■ 

It  was  at  this  moment,  and  just  as  night  was  descending, 
that  the  general  and  decisive  charge  was  made  all  along  the 
line,  in.  obedience  to  Jackson's  brief,  stern  order — "Press 
them  with  the  bayonet,"  Hill's,  E  well's,  Whiting's  and  Jack- 
son's divisions  all  charged.  Hood's  Texan's  and  the  Stone- 
wall Brigade,  in  advance  of  all  the  rest,  pressed  forward  with 
cheers  of  defiance,  over  every  obstacle — and  before  this  terrible 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  121 

charge  in  front,  and  the  storm  of  artillery  on  their  right,  the 
enemy  wavered,  broke,  and  were  put  to  rout.  Posted  in  ad- 
vance of  his  batteries,  his  figure  clearly  revealed  by  the  fires 
which  the  enemy  had  kindled  to  draw  the  artillery  fire  from 
their  guns — Jackson  heard  the  wild  cheers  of  his  men  as  they 
pursued  the  flying  enemy  in  the  direction  of  Grapevine  bridge. 

The  foe  was  routed,  and  a's  Jackson's  brigade  decided  the 
fate  of  the  first  battle  of  Manassas,  so  Jackson's  corps  decided 
the  day  at  Cold  Harbour.  The  heroic  troops  who  had  driven 
the  enemy  from  their  powerful  positions  on  the  Chickahominy, 
back  to  the  point  were  they  fell  into  the  stem  clutch  of  Jack- 
son, were  nearly  exhausted  by  the  enormous  struggle ;  and 
when  the  roll  of  musketry  at  Cold  Harbour  announced  the 
presence  of  Jackson  with  his  veteran  troops,  fresh  for  the  en- 
counter, a  thrill  rau  through  the  Confederate  host,  and  the 
hearts  of  the  Federals  sunk. 

Jackson's  appearance  decided  all. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  RETREAT  OF  m'cLELLAN  TO  MALVERN  II. %L. 

When  night  fell  on  Friday,  June  27th,  1862,  Gen  McCiel- 
lan  was  routed. 

Thenceforward  the  only  question  was,  how  could  he  with- 
draw his  shattered  and  disheartened  forces  to  a  place  of  safety. 
Two  lines  of  retreat  were  left — both  perilous.  One  down  the 
Peninsula,  with  the  vengeful  Confederates  assailing  him  at 
every  step ;  forcing  him  to  turn  and  give  battle  day  by  day, 
if,  indeed,  the  first  encounter  did  not  terminate  in  the  de- 
struction of  his  command.  The  other  toward  James  river,  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Chickahominy,  right  through  the  Con- 
federate lines^-through  swamps  and  streams— over  treacher- 


122  LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON. 

OUS  roads — with  Lee  on  his  rear  and  Hank,  ready  to  destroy 
hiin. 

Neither  prospect  was  inviting,  bul  rapid  decision  was  ne- 
iy  ;  and  Gen.  McCleHan  determined  to  retreat  toward 
Harrison's  Landing,  on  dailies  river. 

Tlie  following  paragraphs  from  the  army  correspondence  of 
the  New  York  Tribune,  exhibits  the  conditioD  of  affairs  at 
the  moment  wHen  the  retreat  commenced;  and  the £rst  sen- 
tences contain  a  statement  of  the  effect  produced  upon  the 
minds  of  the  enemy  by  Jackson's  flank  attack  at  Cold  liar- 
hour: 

kk  My  note  book  says  that,  at  6  o'clock,  the  enemy  com- 
menced a  determined  attack  on  our  extreme  right,  evidently 
with  a  design  of  flunking  us.  It  was  an  awful  firing  that  re- 
souuded  from  that  smoke-clouded  valley — not  heavier  than 
some  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  engagement,  but  more  Steady 
and  determined.  It  was  only  by  overbearing  exhausted  men 
with  fresh  ones  that  the  enemy  succeeded  in  turning  that 
Hank,  as,  at  length,  he  did  succeed,  only  too-well;  aud  he  ac- 
eomplished  it  in  three-quarters  of  an  hour.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  that  time,  our  officers  judiciously  ordered  their  men 
tit  fall  back;  the  order  was  not  obeyed  so  judiciously,  for 
1  hoy  ran  back,  broken,  disordered,  routed.  (Italics  those  of 
the  correspondent.)  Simultaneously  the  wounded  and  skulk- 
ers about  the  buildings  used  as  hospitals,  caught  a  panic, 
whether  #om  a  few  riderless  horses  plunging  madly  across 
the  field,  or  from  instantaneously  scenting  the  rout,  does  not 
appear.  A  motley  mob  started  pell  mell  for  the  bridges. 
They  were  overtaken  by  many  just  from  the  woods,  and  it 
seemed  as  if  Bull  llun  were  to  be  repeated. 

"  Meanwhile,  the  panic  extended.  Scores  of  gallant  offi- 
cers endeavored  to  rally  and  re-form  the  stragglers,  but  in 
vain,  while  many  officers  forgot  the  pride  of  their  shoulder 
straps,  and  the  honor  of  their  manhood,  and  herded  with  the 
sneaks  and  cowards.  0,  that  I  had  known  the  names  of 
those  officers  I  saw,  the  brave  and  the  cowardly,  that  here, 
now,  I  might  reward  and  punish  by  directing  upon  each  indi- 
vidual the  respect  or  the  contempt  of  a  whole  people  ! 

"That  scene  was  not  one  to  be  forgotten.     Scores  of  rider- 


LIFE    OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  123 

less,  terrified  horses,  dashing  in  every  direction;  thick  flying 
bullets  singing  by,  admonishing  of  danger ;  every  minute  a 
man  struck  down  j  wagons  and  ambulances  and  cannon 
blockading  the  way ;  wounded  men  limping,  and  groaning, 
and  bleeding  amid  the  throng;  officers  and  civilians  de- 
nouncing and  reasoning  and  entreating,  and  being  insensibly 
borne  along  with  the  mass;  the  sublime  cannonading,  the 
clouds  of  battle-smoke,  and  the  sun  just  disappearing,  large 
and  blood-red — I  cannot  picture  it,  but  I  see  it,  and  always 
shall." 

It  is  only  justice  to  the  fallen  leader  to  say  that  he  conducted 
the  movement  toward  Harrison's  Landing  with  great  military 
skill ;  and  although  he  had  the  benefit  of  some  terrible  negli- 
gence, incapacity,  misunderstanding,  misconception — call  it 
what  you  will — on  the  part  of  his  enemies  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Chickahominy,  yet  he  achieved  the  movement  success- 
fully, and  got  under  cover  of  his  gunboats,  broken  down  and 
shattered,  but  not  cut  to  pieces  and  annihilated. 

The  battles  which  took  place  every  day  during  this  retreat 
will  long  be  memorable  for  the  obstinate  courage  of  the  Con- 
federate assaults,  and  the  heavy  losses  inflicted  upon  both 
combatants.  Otherwise,  the  battles  arc  not  important.  They 
Vrere  terrible,  bloody,  full  of  the  darkest  tragedy^  but  not  de- 
cisive. McClellan  massed  his  artillery  finally  at  Malvern 
Hill,  and  maintained  his  ground  until  night,  when  lie  evac- 
uated his  position  and  retreated  to  Harrison's  Landing,  under 
cover  of  his  gunboats. 

We  shall  only  touch  upon  the  movements  of  Gen.  Jackson 
during  these  days.  He  had  his  part  in  the  stirring  events  of 
the  time,  but  we  shall  not  dwell  upon  this  portion  of  his 
career — simply  adverting  to  the  operations  of  his  corps  in  the 
various  battles. 

On  the  morning  of  the  28th  Jackson  sent  Gen.  Ewell  for- 
ward to  Dispatch  Station,  on  the  York  River  Railroad,  Gen. 
Stuart  being  in  advance  with  his  cavalry.     The  cavalry  at- 


124  LIFE    OF   STONEWALL   JACKS<>N. 

tacked  and  routed  a  party  oi'  the  enemy*  and  Kwell  tore  up 
and   destroyed    the   railroad  at  that  point.      Finding    from 

cavalry  reconnoissauces  toward  the  White  House  that  the 
enemy  had  not  retreated  in  that  direction,  Tien.  Kwell  pro- 
ceeded toward  Bottom's  Bridge,  on  the  next  day,  returning 
thence  and  rejoining  the  main  corp$. 

On  the  ni-ht  of  the  29th  Jackson,  who  had  remained,  up 
to  thai  tin)  q,  ujfcn  the  battle-field,  put  his  corps  id  motion, 
and    i  I  i    the   right  hank    of    the   Chick  ah  ominy,  at 

Grapevine  Bridge:  This  bridge  had  furnished  an  avenue  of 
escape  to  MeQlcllan  on  the  night  of  the  27th,  when  his 
army  gave  way ;  and,  having  passed  over  the  rolling  and 
uncertain  structure  of  loose  logs,  half  buried  in  the  slushy 
soil,  lie  had  destroyed  it  behind  him.  Jackson  hastily  rc- 
ructcd  it,  and  pushing  forward,  arrived  at  Savage's 
Station,  on  the  York  River  Railroad,  where  he  gathered  up 
about  1,000  stragglers  from  the  Federal  army,  and  found 
immense  stores  abandoned. 

From  Savage's  Station  he  proceeded  to  White  Oak  swamp, 
and  came  upon  the  enemy  strongly  posted  with  artillery  and 
sharpshooters,  in  advance,  behind  the  stream;  the  bridge  over 
which  they  had  passed  having  been  destroyed.  Here  a  hot 
artillery  fight  took  place,  but  the  enemy  continued  to  fall 
back,  and  Jackson  pressed  forward  to  Brazier's  farm,  where 
he  met  Generals  Lee  and  Longstrcet,  and  was  assigned  to  the 
front.  His  presence  infused  new  ardor  into  the  pursuit  of 
the  retreating  enemy,  and,  advancing  under  an  incessant  lire, 
he  l'ound  his  corps  confronted  by  the  entire  army  of  McClcllan 
drawn  up  on  Malvern  Hill. 

The  Federal  commander  had  thus  escaped  to  an  almost  im- 
pregnable position,  but,  in  doing  so,  had  passed  through  scenes, 
the  description  of  which,  in  army  letters,  harrowed  for  many 
months  the  blood  of  the  whole  Northern  people.  In  that  re- 
treat of  the  defeated  army,  the  depths  of  tragic  horror  were 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  125 

fathomed — human  endurance  seomcd  to  have  been  exhausted. 
The  following  sentences  from  the  iVcfo  York  Tribune  s  cor- 
respondent will  convey  some  idea  of  the  scene  : 


"Huddled  among  the  wagons  were  10,000  stragglers — fur 
the  credit  of  the  nation  be  it  said  that  four-fifths  of  them  were 
wounded,  sick  or  utterly  exhausted,  and  could  not  have  stirred 
but  for  dread  of  the  tobaeco  warehouses  of  the  South.  The 
confusion  of  this  herd  of  men  and  mules,  wagons  and  wounded, 
men  on  horses,  men  on  foot,  men  by  the  roadside,  men  perched 
on  wagons,  men  searching  for  water,  men  famishing  for  food, 
men  lame  and  bleeding,  men  with  ghostly  eyes,  looking  out 
between  bloody  bandages,  that  hid  the  face— turn  to  some 
vivid  account  of  the  most  pitiful  part  of  Napoleon's  retreat 
from  Russia,  and  fill  out  the  picture — the  grim,  ^tiunt,  bloody 
picture  of  war  in  its  most  terrible  features. 

"  It  was  determined  to  move  on  during  the  night.  The 
distance  to  Turkey  Island  bridge,  the  point  On  James  river 
which  was  to  be  reached,  by  the  direct  road,  was  six  miles. 
But  those  vast  numbers  could  not  move  over  one  narrow  road 
in  days ;  hence  every  by-road,  no  matter  how  circuitous,  had 
been  searched  out  by  questioning  prisoners  and  by  cavalry 
excursions.  Every  one  was  filled  by  one  of  the  advancing 
columns.  The  whole  front  was  in  motion  by  seven  P.  M., 
General  Keys  in  command  of  the  advance. 

"I  rode  with  General  Howe's  brigade  of  Couch's  division, 
taking  a  wagon  track  through  dense  woods  and  precipitous 
ravines  winding  siuuously  far  around  to  the  left,' and  striking 
the  river  some  distance  below  Turkey  Island.  Commencing 
at  dusk,  the  march  continued  until  day-lights  The  night  was 
dark  and  fearful.  Heavy  thunder  rolled  in  turn  along  each 
point  of  the  heavens  and  dark  clouds  spread  the  entire  canopy. 
We  were  forbidden  to  speak  aloud  ;  or,  lest  the  light  of  a  cigar 
should  present  a  target  for  an  ambushed  rifle,  we  were  cautioned 
not  to  smoke.  Ten  miles  of  weary  marching,  with  frequent 
halts,  as  some  one  of  the  hundred  vehicles  of  the  artillery  train, 
in  our  centre,  by  a  slight  deviation  crashed  against  a  tree,  wore 
away  the  hours  to  dawn,  when  we  debauched  into  a  magnifi- 
cent wheat  field,  and  the  smoke  stack  of  the  Galena  was  in 
sight.  Xenophon's  remnant  of  ten  thousand,  shouting,  'The 
sea!  the  sea!'  were  not  more  glad  than  we." 


126  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

It  is  certain  that  the  whole  Federal  army  shared  this  feel- 
ing. Another  writer  in  the  Neva  York  Tines,  who  strives  to 
conceal  the  extent  of  the  enemy's  discomfiture,  says  : 

uWhen  bo  aid  or  Gen,  McClellan  rode  back  and  reported 
that  the  way  was  all  open  to  James  river,  a  thrill  of  relief  ran 
through  the  whole  line,  and  the  sight  of  the  green  fields  skirt- 
ing its  banks  was  indeed  an  oasis  in  the  terrible  desert  of  sus- 
pense and  apprehension  through  which  they  had  passed.  The 
teams  were  now  put  upon  a  lively  trot,  in  order  to  relieve  the 
pressure  upon  that  portion  still  in  the  rear. 

"  General  McClellan  and  staff  rode  ahead  and  took  posses- 
sion of  the  old  estate  known  as  Malvern  Hill,  one  mile  back 
from  Turkey  Island  Bend.  It  is  a  large,  old  fashioned  estate, 
originally  built  by  the  French,  and  has  near  it,  in  front,  an 
old  earthwork  constructed  by  General  Washington  during  the 
Revolutionary  War.  It  has  a  spacious  yard  shaded  by  vener- 
able elms  and  other  trees.  A  fine  view  of  the  river  can  be 
had  from  this  elevated  position.  General  McClellan  expressed 
the  opinion  that,  with  a  brief  time  to  prepare,  the  position  could 
be  held  against  any  force  the  enemy  can  bring  against  us. 

"Exhausted  by  long  watching  and  fatigue,  and  covered 
thickly  with  the  dust  of  the  road  over  which  we  had  passed, 
many  officers  threw  themselves  upon  the  shady  and  grassy 
lawn  to  rest.  The  soldiers  also,  attracted  by  the  shady  trees, 
surrounded  the  house,  or  bivouacked  in  the  fields  near  by. 

''  (lencral  McClellan  immediately  addressed  himself  to  the 
task  of  preparing  dispatches  for  the  government." 

From  the  composition  of  his  dispatches,  announcing  the 
successful  occupation  of  a  new  and  more  favorable  position  for 
his  projected  advance  upon  Richmond,  Gen.  McClellan  was 
diverted  by  the  intelligence  that  the  enemy  were  approaching 
to  attaek  him  in  his  last  stronghold. 

In  speaking  of  the  hard  fought  battle  of  Malvern  Hill,  we 
shall  confine  ourselves  to  a  brief  notice  of  the  part  taken  in 
the  contest  by  Gen.  Jackson's  corps.  The  command  lost  here 
some  of  its  best  men — sleeping  now  amid  the  dim  nines  of 
Charles  City. 


LIFE   OF  STONEWALL  JACKSON.  127 

Jackson  formed  his  line  in  the  following  order  :  Whiting's 
division  on  the  left,  at  Poiudexter's  farm  ;  D.  H.  Hill  more 
to  the  right ;  Taylor's  brigade  of  Ewell's  division,  forward  be- 
tween Hill  and  Whiting,  the  rest  of  that  division  in  rear  of  the 
first  line.  Jackson's  division  was  halted  near  Willis's  Church, 
and  held  in  reserve,  concealed  amid  the  dense  woods. 

Hill  hearing,  as  he  supposed,  the  signal  from  Gen.  Lee  for 
a  general  advance,  put  his  lines  in  motion,  and  advanced  to 
attack  the  tremendous  position  before  him.  He  was  met  by 
overwhelming  numbers,  and  so  hard  pressed  that  he  was  com- 
pelled to  call  urgently  for  reinforcements.  Jackson  promptly 
sent  forward  Ewell's  reserve  and  his  own  old  division,  but 
owing  to  the  swampy  nature  of  the  ground,  the  thick  under- 
growth and  gathering  darkness,  their  march  was  so  much 
retarded  that  they  did  not  arrive  in  time  to  enable  Hill  to 
maintain  his  position.  lie  was  forced  to  fall  back  with  heavy 
loss,  at  nightfall. 

On  the  left,  Gen.  Whiting  with  his  batteries  drove  back  an 
advance  of  the  enemy  upon  Jackson's  centre;  but  this  was 
decisive  of  no  results ;  Jackson's  corps  slept  .on  the  field  iu 
front  of  the  enemy — but  in  the  morning  the  Federal  army  had 
retreated. 

Such  was  the  part  borne  by  Gen.  Jackson  in  the  battle  of 
Malvern  Hill,  one  of  the  most  hotly  contested  of  the  war.  It 
has  not  been  necessary  to  the  design  of  this  work,  to  describe 
the  great  combat  in  all  its  details,  any  more  than  the  battle  of 
Cold  Harbour.  We  add,  however,  the  following  animated 
sentences  of  a  writer  soon  after  the  event,  which  convey  a 
very  truthful  idea  of  the  fury  of  the  contest,  and  the  condi- 
tions upon  which  it  was  fought. 

"  Gen.  McClellan,"  says  this  writer,  prepared,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  one  of  his  officers,  to  "  clothe  the  hill  in  sheets  of 
flame."  Every  ravine  swarmed  with  his  thousands,  and  along 
the  crest  of  every  hill  flashed  forth  his  numerous  artillery, 
having  for  the  most  part  an  unbroken  play  over  the  ascend- 


128  LIFE  OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

ing  slope,  and  across  cleared  fields  of  twelve  hundred  yards  in 

••  Notwithstanding  the  formidable  nature  of  this  position,  it 
was  determined  to  attack  him.     It  was  not  in  the  plan  of  our 

skillful  and  aide  General-in-Chief, whosegenius had  conceived 
the  whole  of  the  strategy  which  crushed  .McClelhm,  to  permit 
the  enemy  to  stand  al  bay,  and  arrest  our  terrible  pursuit 
merely  by  a  snow  of  battle  array — and  so,  late  in  the  afternoon 
of  Tuesday,  1st  duly,  this   trem  mtesl   commenced* 

.Malvern  ill!!  ted  with  ascending  and  descend- 

ing flames  of  lire.  Thirty-seven  pieces  of  artillery,  supported 
at  a  greater  distance  by  heavy  and  more  numerous  batteries, 
and  by  his  gunboats,  kept  faithful  ward  oyer  the  enemy's  po- 
sition, and  ploughed  through  our  columns  even  before  they 
could  see  the  enemy  or  deploy  into  line  of  battle.  Undismayed 
by  the  most  terriiic  cannonading  of  the  war,  the  terrible  ad- 
varic  ruder's  forces  commenced.     Onward,  in  the  J'aee 

of  a  storm  of  shot  and  shell,  they  pressed  forward,  until  in  mus- 
ket range  of  the  enemy,  and  then  they  opened  their  terrific 
fire.  AVhole  lines  of  the  enemy  fell  as  they  stood,  or,  attempt- 
ing retreat,  were  overtaken  by  the  fatal  bullets  of  our  troops, 
who  never  veered  in  their  aim  or  recoiled,  while  the  enemy's 
infantry  remained  in  range,  and  when  forced  back  tor  a  time 
by  the  avalanche  of  converging  artillery,  yet  when  the  infantry 
of  the  enemy  ventured  again  beyond  their  batteries, our  heroic 
lines  advanced  with  shout  and  bayonet  and.  drove  them  back 
among  the  reserves  and  behind  the  wall  of  fire  which  flamed 
along  the  mouths  of  the  circling  cannon.  Thus  the  contest 
ebbed  and  flowed  until  night  spread  its  mantle  on  the  battle 
field. 

"The  batteries  of  the  enemy  were  not  captured  by  assault, 
because  no  line  of  men  could  live  in  their  converging  fires, 
sweeping  unobstructed  the  attagking  forcej  lor  twelve  hun- 
dred yards,  but  his  line  of  infantry  was  repeatedly  broken 
with  frightful  slaughter  by  the  fierce  charges  of  our  troops^ 
who  held  their  position  and  slept  on  the  field,  within  one  hun- 
dred yards  of  the  enemy's  guns.  The  extent  of  the  carnage 
of  the  enemy  no  one  imagined  until  daylight  revealed  it  in  the 
horrors  of  the  battle-field.  Ouj  dead  lay  close  together,  pro- 
ducing thus  upon  the  beholder  an  exaggerated  impression  of 
the  number;  but  an  examination  showed  that  the  loss  of 
the  enemy  much  exceeded  ours.     His  dead  lay  everywhere — 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON  129 

here  in  line  of  battle,  there  in  wild  confusion  of  rout  and  re- 
treat— not  a  ravine,  not  a  glade,  not  a  hill  that  was  not  dotted 
by  their  mangled  forms,  while  every  dwelling,  out-house,  barn 
and  stable  for  miles  around  was  crowded  with  their  dead  and 
dying.  In  many  places  groups  of  dead  were  found  distant 
from  the  battle-field,  where  it  was  evident  they  were  carried 
with  the  intent  of  bearing  them  to  the  river,  and  where  they 
were  roughly  and  rudely  tossed  on  the  wayside  when  the 
panic  overtook  their  escort.  Every  indication  showed  the 
wildest  flight  of  the  enemy.  Cannon  and  caissons  were  aban- 
doned, and  for  miles  the  road  was  filred  with  knapsacks, 
rifles  muskets,  ke.  kc.  Loaded  wagons  were  left  in  the  road, 
with  vast  quantities  of  ammunition  unexploded.  Caisson 
drivers  opened  their  ammunition  chests  and  threw  out  their 
powder  and  round  shot  to  lighten  their  loads,  to  enable  them 
to  keep  up  with  the  rapid  flight.  It  is  hazarding  but  little  to 
say,  that  when  night  put  an  end  to  the  battle,  the  whole  army 
of  McClellan,  with  the  exception  of  the  artillery,  and  its  di- 
minished infantry  guard  near  Crew's  and  Turner's  houses, 
was  utterly  disorganized,  and  had  become  a  mob  of  stragglers. 
At  daylight  next  morning  nothing  could  be  seen  of  his  army 
except  some  cavalry  pickets,  that  in  the  distance  observed  our 
advance.  We  do  not  believe  that  fifteen  thousand  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Potomac  retreated  from  the  bloody 
heights  of  Malvern  Hill  as  soldiery.  If  nature  had  scooped 
out  the  bed  of  Japes  river  twenty  miles  distant  from  Malvern 
Hill,  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Potomac  would  have  ceased  to 
exist." 

McClellan  had  been  enabled,  by  massing  his  artillery  upon 
strong  positions,  to  repulse  a  portion  of  the  Confederate  as- 
sault, and  hold  the  ground  until  the  welcome  shades  of  night 
put  an  end  to  the  contest.  But  the  battle  of  Malvern  Hill, 
indecisive  as  it  appeared,  had  a  conclusive  effect  [upon  the 
1  Federal  army.  t  The  frightful  carnage  which  took  place  in 
their  ranks  bore  heavily  upon  the  spirits  of  men  who  were 
completely  exhausted  by  the  prostrating  fatigue  and  excite* 
ment  of  six  days  of  marching  and  fighting,  almost  without 
rest  or  food.  From  the  26th  of  June,  the  Federal  troops  had 
had  no  breathing  space.     They  were  either  engaged  in  des- 


130  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

perate  combat  with  the  foe  during  all  that  time,  or  retreating, 
hotly  pursued.  That  foe,  like  a  vengeful  Nemesis,  still 
hovered  over  them,  as  fresh  and  vigorous,  to  all  appearances, 
as  ever ,  and  under  these  combined  influences  of  fatigue, 
famine,  disaster  and  hopelessness,  the  hearts  of  the  enemy 
sunk.  They  gave  ap  all  further  idea  of  victory;  many  threw 
down  their  arms,  and  saum  qui  peut  was  now  the  order  of  the 
day  throughout  ajfnost  the  entire  Federal  army.  They  no 
longer  looked  forward  toward  the  Confederate  lines,  but  back- 
ward toward  Harrison's  Lauding,  where,  under  the  shelter  of 
the  gun-boats,  they  saw  their  only  hope  of  extrication  from 
the  horrors  which  surrounded  them.  Broken  in  spirit,  pros- 
trated physically,  and  seeing  in  further  contests  a'dditional 
disaster  only,  they  gave  up  the  struggle,  straggled  away,  and 
arrived  at,  the  haven  of  safety  a  confused  and  disorderly  mob, 
rather  than  a  disciplined  and  effective  army. 

Let  the  following  paragraph,  from  the  correspondent  of  the 
New  York  Tribune,  at  Harrison's  Landing,  on  the  2d  of  Juty, 
describe  the  demeanor  of  General  McClellan,  aud  the  condi- 
tion of  his  troops : 

"General  McClellan  came  on  board  the  mail  boat,  greatly 
perturbed.  He  met  General  Patterson  as  he  stepped  on 
board,  laid  his  hand  on  his  shoulder,*  and  took  him  in  a  hur- 
ried mannei:  into  the  aft  cabin,  or  ladies'  saloon.  As  he  weut 
in  he  beat  the  air  with  his  right  hand  clenched,  from  which  all 
present  inferred  there  was  bad  news.  To  the  astonishment  of 
the  writer,  it  was  subsequently  explained  '  that  the  whole 
army  of  the  Potomac  lay  stretched  along  the  banks  of  the 
river  where  we  lay,  having  fought  their  way  all  through  from 
Fair  Oaks,  a  distance  of  thirty  miles.'  General  McClellan^ 
however,  claimed  that  his  troops  '  had  fought  the  Confede- 
,  rates  in  superior  numbers  every  day  for  a  week,  and  whipped 
them  every  time/  To  a  question  as  to  the  location  of  certain 
Divisions  and  their  Generals,  the  answer  was,  'They  are  scat- 
tered everywhere,  but  are,  nevertheless,  in  a  solid,  compact 
body/  And  in  reply  to  another  remark,  it  was  said,  *  What 
we  want   is  fresh   men ;  they  (the  troops,)  arc  woj^ed   to 


LIFE   OP   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  131 

death.'  The  description  of  the  troops,  on  a  dead  level  on  the 
banks  of  the  river,  covered  from  head  to  foot,  and  up  to  their 
knees  in  mud  in  the  soft,  most  alluvial  soil,  is  painfully 
graphic.  i  Under  some  trees  which  lay  in  clusters,  the  men 
were  crouched.  They  looked/  says  the  writer,  '  as  if  they 
were  more  dead  than  alive.  They  were  covered  to  the  crown 
of  the  head  with  mud ;  their  faces  and  clothes  were  literally 
coated,  while  their  shoes  and  boots  had  several  pounds  of  the 
nasty  yellow  stuff  into  and  all  around  them.'  " 

Such  was  the  termination  of  the  long  agony  of  invasion — 
defeat,  disaster,  ruin.  The  boasted  plans  for  taking  the  Con- 
federate capital  had  all  failed.  The  splendid  army,  which, 
by  General  McClellan's  sworn  statement  on  his  trial,  amounted 
to  more  than  150,000  men,  of  whom  112,000  were  hale,  hearty 
and  effective,  had  been  routed  and  overwhelmed ;  beaten  in 
battle  after  battle ;  driven  ignominiously  from  its  positions, 
and  huddled  together — a  shrinking,  trembling,  broken-spirited 
flock  of  sheep — under  the  bristling  port-holes  of  the  gunboats 
on  James  river.  That  tragic  end  of  all  its  hopes  was  patent 
to  the  great  world  of  America  and  Europe.  Glozing  dispatches 
could  not  smooth  over  the  disaster ;  the  pretence  of  a  pre- 
meditated "  change  of  base/'  to  a  more  favorable  position  for 
advancing  upon  Richmond,  deceived  nobody.  The  Old  World 
and  the  New — England,  France,  New  York,  Lincoln  and  Sew- 
ard, and  their  compeers — saw  that  this  was  defegi;  for  the 
time,  final,  irrevocable  defeat  McClellan  had  played  for  a 
great  stake  ;  brought  all  his  skill,  strategy,  brain  and  strength 
and  nerve  to  bear  upon  the  contest.  The  game  went  against 
him;  he  was  bankrupt;  and  the  world  would  not  believe  that 
•he  rose  the  winner. 

We  have  presented  a  rapid  narrative  of  these  great  battles, 
so  far  as  Jackson's  corps  took  part  in  them.  The  statements 
of  fact  are  all  that  is  needed  :  comment  is  unnecessary.  The 
plans  of  General  Lee  were  those  of  a  great  commander,  and 
the  best  proof  of  their  eminent  wisdom  lies  in  the  fact,  that 
McClellan  speedily  discovered,  but  could  not  counteract  them. 


' 


132  LIFE    OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

The  hand  of  Fate  was  on  him,  in  the  person  of  Lee;  he  had 
been  nut-generallcd;  and,  though  prompt  intelligence  reached 
the  Federal  commander,  as  he  staled  on  his  trial,  that  Jackson 
was  approaching — though  he  wrote  to  Lincoln,  on  the  25th  of 
June,  that  he  would  "probably  be  attacked  to-morrow" — the 
position  of  his  forces  was  such  that  he  could  not  guard  against 
the  assault,  and  his  Pate  was  already  decided.  The  hand  upon 
the  dial  pointed  to'  the  fated  moment;  the  hour  struck;  and 
the  star  of  McClcllan,  the  "Young  Napoleon"  of  popular 
fancy,  went  down  in  blood. 

Lee  had  thus  out-geucralled,  and  soon  out-fought  and 
triumphed  over  his  opponent.  He  had  proved  himself  the 
greatest  captain  of  the  age,  but  with  what  magnificent  lieu- 
tenants !  Longstreet,  the  hard,  stubborn,  unyielding  fighter, 
who,  like  the  "  War  Horse,"  a  name  given  him  by  Lee, 
snuffed  the  coming  battle,  and  fought  with  a  skill,  a  courage, 
a  resolution,  so  admirable  !  Stuart,  the  prince  of  cavalry 
leaders,  with  his  native  genius  for  the  career  of  arms,  his 
nerve,  his  daring,  his  clan  in#a  charge,  and  that  coolness 
which  never  deserted  him,  whatever  peril  menaced,  or  disaster 
seemed  imminent.  A.  P.  Hill,  of  the  "Light  Division,"  the 
chivalric,  dashing,  steady,  indomitable  leader.  Ewell,  the 
blunt,  stern,  abrupt,  thoroughly  reliable  soldier,  who  never 
yielded,  and  compelled  victory  to  his  standard.  Hood,  the 
immovable  rook,  whiclf  dashed  back  every  wave  that  struck 
it.  The  generals  of  divisionMind  brigades;  the  colonels  of 
regiments;  the  commanders  of  squadrons  and  batfalions;  tne' 
captains  of  companies — all  co-operated  in  this  grand  resuH, 
upholding  the  hands  of  their  great  commander-in-chief,  and 
ensuring  the  success  of  the  Confederate  arms. 

Among  those  lieutenants  of  the  great  captain  one  name 
shines  with  unsurpassed  lustre — the  name  of  Jackson.  It 
was  Jackson  who  came  with  his  fresh  troops  to  decide  the 
fate  of  the  obstinate  contest;  to  hurl  his  trained  legions  upon 
the  enemy,  and  to  drive  them  from  the  hard-fought  field. 


;v 

Cc 


life  of  stonewaIl  jacksomA  133 

'todi -what  skill,  courage  and  perfect  success  tins  was  done, 
the  reports  of  General  Lee  will  show.  These  two  men  had 
now  met  for* the  first  time  in  the  war;  had  seen  each  other  at 
work ;  and  there  sprung  up  at  once  between  the  two  eminent 
soldiers  that  profound  resjj^^  confidence  and  regard  which 
thenceforth  knew  no  diminution,  no  shadow  of  turning. 
J^cjaon  said  o£  Lq<j,  "lie  is  a  phenomenon.  I  would  follow 
hjm  blindfolded."  And  when  the  former  was  struck  at 
Cliancellorsville  by  the  fatal  bullet  which  forced  him  iflujmi£ 
the  field,  Lee  wrote  : 

"I  have  just  received  your  note  informing  me  that  you 
ere  wounded.  I  cannot  express  my  regret  at  the  occurrence, 
lould  I  have  dictated  events,  I  should  have  chosen,  for  the 
good  of  the  country,  to  have  been  disabled  in  your  stead.  I 
congratulate  you  upou  the  victory  which  is  due  to  your  skill 
and  energy.'' 

It  was  on  the  field  of  Cold  Harbour  that  this  great  and 
noble  friendship  had  its  beginning.  The  men  measured  each 
other,  face  to  face,  saw  each  the  other's  stature j  and  thence- 
forth knew  what  the*  had  to  rely  on.  This  utter  confidence 
was  the  crowning  glory  of  both;  and  the  note  of  Lee  at 
Chancellorsville  will  remain  forever  the  glorious  epitaph  of 
Jackson;  the  declaration  of  the  latter,  above  recorded,  is  a 
noble  authority  for  the  historian  of  the  future,  in  delineating 
the  great  form  of  Lee. 

Jackson  fought  at  Cold  Harbour,  and  Malvern  Hill,  as 
everywhere,  with  the  science  of  a  great  soldier;  but  the 
arduous  toil  and  anxiety  of  earlier  days  in  the  Valley  was 
^spared  him.  His  troops  no  longer  required  watching,  and 
careful  manoeuvring,  to  make  them  victorious.  The  raw 
levies  had  become  veteran  legions  ;  the  inexperienced  volun- 
teer pfficcrs  had  grown  to  be  masters  of  the  art  of  fighting. 
Like  bloo'dhounds,  they  had  only  to  be  loosed,  to  follow  with 
unerring  accuracy  the  trail  of  victory.  The  writer  of  this 
page  saw  Gen.  Jackson  in  those  days,  and  he  was  utterly 
7 


134  LIFE   OF    STflKEWALL   JACKSON. 

calm.     Hc^Fr^y  air  of  o:.  rjfn  what  he  r  dipd, 

His  fcr<  m^§5 

■   command                ,   had  b  in   position  j   the 

of  *jfche  i  affair  lay 

with   them;  and  i                       L  thfee  doss  of  war  never 


I  run  m0ht.  icir  clutch 

■I  ^fA\ 


!^- 
.    t! 
forces.  »11  of  are  exH(|rtoe. 

tain  hi 

The   Confederate  an#f  runiai: 
until  the  Mh  of  July.     J'aekfcc^ft«jis   stre;    .';    i.i  !'■■•  or  o£|S 
advance,  and     ■•'  -  "ie!!:m,Wf 

the  si  :  ;    i.hat   tin 

ample  grounds  for  .      •  haye 

Upon  grounds,  ho 
lusivc,  the  Confedci 
and  on  the   8th  of  be  accordingly,  with* 

drawn.     -;  line,  rat  the  li 

in  which  tli^'  had  .'/nit  of  [;.  ,  and 

took  up  the  line  of  mar  1  Riclfmond. 

Jackson  had  lost  at  the  battle  oi'  C  pjj  589  killed, 

and  2,671    wounded.  ,  I    i    Bill,  377 

•  '. 

The  famous  corps  ha-  ;,  in    f]:e  fullest  de^^ft? 

noble  renutatii  beyond  them. 

tains,  had  lefl  '  from  Aebland,  by 

Cold  Harbour,  to  Malvern  Hill ;  but,  alas  !  had  left,  too,  some 
of  its  mo9p  precious  blood,  poured  out  io  the*lowlands%as 
other  blood  had  been,  in  the  Virginia  Valley.    Those 

brave  near||  sjeep  now  under   tin  ,.I  of  tho  Ilanovar 

slopes;  in  the  silent  and  mystcrioj  ps  of  the  Chicka- 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSO#fe-  135 


hominy;  and  beneath  the  dim  pines  of  ^MMfcity,  sighing 
Wer  their  unl  raves'.     But  theyB^nmt?  forgotten. 

Their  names  are  linked  with  the  name  and<^jtoe  of  Jackson? 
and  will  live  forever.  $> 

4fZ. 


CHATTER  XVIII. 


fOPE. 


a? 


*Thc  disastrop^Bhiiuation  of  the  battles  around  "Hickmoud 

only  aroped  the  Korlhdrn  govern  iffent  to  new  efforts.     Hard 

%htiug  had  failed  to  secui#  their  object;  brutality  and  frcn- 

"fcd  ra^J^inst  the  u  rebofc  r>vcrc  noyfto  be  the  controlling 

elements  of  the  Federal  poli 

y  sflSJ  (restraints  of  decency  were  to  be  laid  aside;  the  rules  of 
civilized  warfare  ignored  ;  the  gentlemen  of  the  South  con- 
tending in  oped  and  honorable  e*c$ict  for  ihcir  homes  and 
liberties  were 'to  bo  treated  as  slaves  in  revolt  against  their 
masters. 

The  radical  party  had  finally  gained  the  ascendancy,  and 
the  signal  was  given  for  new  rfnd  more  extensive  preparations 
for  carrying  on  the  war.  The  object  now  was  to  overwhelm, 
by  every  mean.--,  honorable  or  dishonorable,  the  strength  of 
the  "  rebellion." 

A  Bill  was  passed  confiscating  the  slaves  of  all  persons,  loyal 
*»typ  South.  Another  act  directed  slaves  to.  be  armed  and 
ctii'oIL  1  as  h\.:>ps.  Milita^f  eointfianders  wove  authorized  to 
seize  and  make  use  or  any  property,  real  or  personal,  belong- 
ing to  citizens  of  the  Coniederacy^iecessary  or  convenient  for 
their  commands,  without  c  ion  to  the  owners.       , 

The  war  was  thus  to  be  conducted  in  future  upon  tjje  radi- 
qnl  programme;  upon  the  fundamental  principle^hat  rebellion 
against  the  "  best  government  the  world  ever  saw "  was  a  ciAe 


186  tf*E  OF  STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

•  •  ^w  — 

of  sa  deep  :i  dye,  that  those  guilty  of  it,  should  be  treated 
without  mercy,  and  a*  enemies  beyond  the  pale  of  civilized 
warfare.  Napoleon,  when  it  was  necessary,  subsisted  his  ar- 
mies on  the  country  through  which  he  passed,  but  honestly 
paid  for  everything.  It  was  rescued  for  the  Federal  govern- 
ment to  seize  every  species  of  proport^tirithout  compensation  ; 
to  ransack  clothes  presses  and  china  closets,  and  rob  the  very 
henroost*  and  dairies. 

The  new  campaign  was  to  be  inaugurated  in  that  beautiful 
iregion  of  Virginia  lying  north  of  the  Rappahannock  and 
Rapidan.  During  the  month  of  July,  while  McClellau  was 
still  lying  on  the  hot  shores  of  James  river,  with  a  portion  of 
his  defeated  army,  fresh  levies  were  rapidly  hurried  forward 
to  "Washington.  That  city  became  one  great  camp:  and 
under  the  inspiring  influences  of  the  new  radical  regime,  a 
large  force  was  soon  ready  to  take  the  field.  This  body  of 
men  was  known  as  the  "  Army  of  Virginia" — and  was 
speedily  sent  forward  to  Warrenton,  Little  Washington  and 
Fredericksburg,  with  a -view  to  advance  upon  Gordonsville, 
and  cut  the  communications  between  Richmond  and  Staunton. 

The  command  of  the  "  Army  of  Virginia  "  was  entrusted 
to  Major-General  John  Pope;  a  personage  chiefly  renowned 
for  having  been  cow-hided,  without  resistance,  by  a  Southern 
gentleman,  for  embezzling  large  sums  of  public  money,  and 
for  having  been  guilty,  while  commanding  in  Missouri,  of 
outrages  which  "  challenge  a  comparison  with  the  most  infer- 
nal record,  erer  bequeathed  by  the  licensed  murderer  to  th 
abhorrence  of  mankind." 

The  career  of  Pope  in  Virginia  is  one  of  the  most 
tesque  chapters  in  the  annals  of  war.  Let  us  not  speak  of 
him  with  indignation,  or  informs  of  labored  insult.  Oppro- 
brious epithets  cannot  reach  him  j  and  the  present  writer  would' 
derive  no  satisfaction  frcfni  dwelling  on  the  fact  that  Gen.  Pope, 
as  all  now  concede,  was  a  braggart,  a  paltroon ;  guilty  of  sys-V 
tert&tic  falsehood  j  aud  proved  to  have  perpetrated  in  his  own 
I     # 


0   the 
:   gro- 


LIFE   OF    STONEWALL   JAOKSON.  137 

person,  outrages  which  mark  the  low-born  and  low-bred 
wretch.  He  has  been  called  a  "  Yankee  compound  of  Baba- 
dil  and  Munchausen."  But  unfortunately  this  Babadil  com- 
manded a  large  army;  this  Munchausen  signed  ''Major- 
General  "  beneath  his  name. 

Before  following  the  further  movements  of  General  Jack- 
son, let  us  notice  some  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Federal 
trooJSfe,  under  the  leader  whom  he  was  soon  to  overthrow. 
The  subject,  as  we  have  said,  is  grotesque;  and  suppressing 
our  indignation  at  the  outrages  which  laid  waste  one  of  the 
fairest  portions  of  the  State,  we  may  contemplate  with  a  spe- 
cies of  curious  interest,  the  doings  of  these  vermin ;  their 
robbery  of  hen  roosts;  their  predatory  excursions  in  search  of 
eggs  ;  then*  guttural  reply  to  all  questions,  "  I  vites  mit  Zie- 
fjel ;"  and  their  amusing  confidence  in  their  resistless  prowess, 
up  to  the  very  moment  when  they  fled,  affrighted  before 
Jackson — their  great  commander  Pope,  for  once  not  bringing 
up  the  rear. 

*  One  of  the  few  pieces  of  light  literature  read  in  the  latter 
days  of  his  life,  by  General  Jackson,  was  an  article  in  a  num- 
ber of  the  CornhiU  Magazine,  styled  "  Campaigning  with 
General  Pope."  This  article  gave  the  experiences  of  a  rov- 
ing Englishman  from  Washington  to  Cedar  Run,  and  pre- 
sented a  curious  picture  of  the  state  of  things  at  the  moment. 
Some  of  these  incidents,  derived  from  various  sources,  will 
furnish,  as  we  have  said,  an  appropriate  introduction  to  the 
battle  of  Cedar  Run,  in  which  the  outrages  perpetrated  upon 
the  defenceless  inhabitants  were  fully  avenged. 

General  Pope,  the  willing  instrument  of  the  brutal  party 
now  in  the_  ascendent,  was  tall  o£  stature,  vulgar  in  feature, 
fnd  full  of  "brag  and  bluster."  He  had  secured  his  com- 
'  maud  by  boasting  and  braggadocia — by  the  declaration,  that 
he  u  had  seen  nothing  of  his  enemies  but  their  backs  ;"  and 
he  now  prepared  to  sustain  himself  by  still  more  magnificent 
rodomontades.  I       •         • 


138  iM^OF   STOXE\H! 

He  knew  the^R                  hi  ■      mtrymtn,  and   arrived  at 

his  headquarl  s  tmd 

streamers.                       ip  wind.  to  pen 

his  l§brdci<jja|o  the  army.  -^^ 

"I  d<   ife  v  "i  to  in  pfthrases, 

I  heir 
ly  of  takiu  ]  ( '\eiii :  of 

;ar«uch 
i  i  ild  desire 

to  occu]  -  easily  ad^ 

upon   the  line  of "  i  trc^fc 

*  of  our  opponents,  and   !  atfc   our   own   to  jtak^  care  of*  itself. 

[jet  us  look  i  hame  link 

in  the  n 

Such;  was  the  ord  \ie;:co)jjP 

man  '   last  smAm^  h: 

"DU  '  shame  lurked  in  his  rear"  as  he  advanced, 

as  he  fled.  His  next  oraerUvas,  that  all  di 
should  be  immediately  arrested ;  the  oath  of  allegiance  offered 
them  j  and  if  they  took  it  and  "furnished  sufficient  security 
for  its  observance/'  they  should  fe  released.  If  they  refused 
it  they  should  be  sent  beyond  the  extreme  pickets,  and  if 
found  again  within  his  lines  treated  as  spies — that  is,  shot. 
"If  any  person  having  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  as  above 
specified,  be  found  to  have  violated  it,  he  shall  be  shot,  and 
his  property  seized   and   apfftied  to  the  publi  '  Bstly, 

"all  communication  w':  .ever   living  within 

the  Ihu  s  of  the   i 

tcrs  or  messages,  wil 
#onsidercd   and    treated  Jte   <  h  was  the   infamous 

(Expatriation  Ordi  ,Vpe  fulminated  at 'the 

peace  In  1    :  i1  per.     It  was  followed   by  a^ 

B  other  jure  execrable  still  inwehr,  one  of  Pop^jT 

subordinates,  to  the  effect  that  the  prominent  citizens  in  every 
district  should  be  arrested,  and  hekfcas  hostages  for  the  good 
benavior  .of  the  population     If  any  of  the  Federal  troops 


LIFE    OF   STflfllRWALL   JACKSON.  139 

were   ?y>ushsriiac3ae&" — that  is,  shot  by  guerillas  or  irregular 
Aops,  fjhe  citizens  should  s&tfFcr  death-. 
'WL  is  obviou^t:)  v.  npletc  suij ligation 

<^thc   pe<  ludicrously  r^Jlcd. 

Pope  has  0hly  tl  ic  infamy  i  ■    rdcrs  " — 

|^ey  utterly,  fail  ain  their  purpo  - 1  women 

and  u^Jjdrcu  o£Culpepper  laughe  ;  the  old  men  swore 

at  hifci  to  hi  .  Furioao, 

by  the  efaorml  .  ■  steps 

*f   the   inexoral  ached   in   the  form  oj 

Jackson.  .         Slfc 

A  few  detaijs  of  the  manner  in  which  s?nrcha^Kid  "sup^ 
sisting  on  the  country"  lonipjjjj^cd  will  appropriately 

Aferoduce,  as  w"c  have  sa  reat  events  which  followed. 

,  t  k^^t  i  by  cye-wit- 

:s  of  both  ;  ..id  Icajfl^Hfeadcr  to  make  his  own 

I 
*  A  gentleman  of  I  ties  : 

u  One  peculiarity  in  the  army  of  the  "greatest  of  our  Geri- 

ought  to  be  recor  matter  of  some  possible  in- 

terest in  the  future.     There  were   two  regiments,  forming  a 
corps  of  fi<  •  id   executioners,  who  usually  went  in  ad- 

■thcring 
the  fin  of  the  pcopkw 

ThevgWfliv  seated  (by«thcir  eomra.les  *of  a  more  decent  co^Jp 
plexion)   ;  :  of  public  malefactors 

( the  only  i  jg  young  luced  to 

take  coiiinii.::.-''         «  ;st  all  the 


most  notorious  dens  of  irnamy"  and  crime  in  the  Unitod  Sta^ra^ 

■^Wlii  elderly  trontlcma  \\  ^-m  d  th  nfj^jBps  porch,  and  <ji   a 
leu  a  large  body  of  cavalry  gsfll  >]  c  I  up  into  hi.-  yard^nd 
surrounded  his  hoii  <  r  who  }m  "d'er  or  of- 

ficer, the  appe  B  an,  overgrown  cobbler  or  w^per,  dis-. 

mounted  and  entered  |jjqj  an  r;  se  ajid^- 

cfiessed  him  :  "  V\'f;U_  Jf  take  a  seat,  .A- '. "     "  No^sii'Jgaid 
the  Colonel;  "  I  have  come  to  aakc  a  search  of  this  h•ie.,, 


140  LIFE   OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

Gentleman — "Well,  sir,  !  hope  you  will  make  a  thorough  ex- 
aminatioD,  and  I  will  assist  you,  with  a  hope  that  I  may  be 
spared  any  future  visitations  of  this  sor^.'"  (Calling  to  a  gfe 
vant.)  "  Boy,  bring  me  all  the  keys  of  the  house."  lie  pro- 
reeded,  followed  by  the  QplOnel.  "  We  will  first  explore  this 
room;  it  is  the  parlor-  there,  sir,  are  Borne  presses."  Colo- 
nel— "What's  in  them.,  sir  '.'"  Centleman — "  Books  sir,  I 
believ€wexclusivcly  ;  hut  I  desire  thai  you  examine  them  all 
for  yourself,"  at  the  same  time  throwing  open  the  uppjp  part. 
All  were  books.  Yankee — "There's  a  lower  part.  \¥hats 
in  that?"  "Open  it,  sir,  and  look  for  yourself "  All  book's 
again.  Yankee — "There's  a  box,  sir.  What's  in  that?" 
"  I  think,  sir,  its  a  box  packed  by  my  family;  but  I  desir*e 
you  to  make  a  thorough  exploration  oTit.  L  will  open  it  if  I 
can  find  the  key."  The  box  was  opened,  in  dived  the  Yankee 
Colonel,  and  stirred  jged  rummaged  everything  inside;  but 
finding  nothing  but  towels,  baby  clothes  and  such  trumpery, 
he  emerged,  to  pursue  his  search  elsewhere;  and  as  he  dTf 
so  he  saw  the  hilt  of  a  sword  of  the  last  century,  so  hanging 
as  for  the  blade  to  be  hidden  by  one  of  the  presses.  lie  was 
immediately  animated  with  the  idea  that  he  had  probably 
made  an  important  capture.  "  Why,  sir,"  said  he,  "here's  a 
§WOrd ;  what's  that  doing  there?" — at  the  same  time  taking 
it  down.  Gentleman — drawing  himself  up  to  his  full  height', 
and  looking  with  the  most  withering  scorn  upon  the  low-bred 
brute,  replied  calmly  and  deliberately — "  \Tes,  sir,  that  is  a 
sword.  It  has  a  little  story  which  gives  it  a  value  in  my  eyes. 
It  would  be  of  very  little  usft  to  the  Federal  army.  1\  was 
buckled  on  by  a  young  officer,  who  was  in  the  first  company 
formed  in  the  State  of  Virginia  for  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 
He  fought  with  it  in  the  first  battle  South,  and  afterwards  at 
Yorktown.  He  was  never  absent  from  the  army  during  the 
entire  Revolution,  lie  fought  with  it  aUSaratcga,  and  Tren- 
ton, and  Monmouth,  and  Cerniaiitown,  and  Brandywiue,  and 
on  many  other  holds.-  lie  relumed  home  and  continued  a 
warm  friend  of  Washington.  :(nd  well  known  to  Washington. 
He  lived  for  a  great  number  of  years  the  intimate  friend  of 
.John  Marshall,  who  was  also  his  companion  in  arms;  and 
when  lie  died  lie  lei'!  mo  thai  sword.  rJ  hat  pontrait  hanginJ 
near  is  his,  and  I  am  his  son  !  The  gentleman  was  Daniel  P. 
tSlmwhtrr — perhaps  as  generally,  certainly  as  favorably  known 
as  any  man  in  the  State  of  Virginia.*  .-      »* 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  141 

The  same  gentleman  gives  the  following  account  of  the 
treatment  of  the  llev.  Mr.  George,  near  Culpepper  Court 
House.  This  clergyman,  on  the  appearance  of  the  enemy, 
applied  for  a  guard,  which  was  furnished,  in  the  person  of 
one  soldier.     Mr.  George  then  says  :' 

"  y  But  before  the  guard  arrived  some  twenty  or  more  men 
collected  iu  the  garden  and  yard,  went  at  once  to  work  in 
destroying  my  bees,  broke  into  my  study  through  the  back 
window,  broke  open  my  desks  and  a  trunk,  stealing  a  variety 
of  things,  and  tumbled  all  my  papers  into  contusion  and  dis- 
order.' The  guard  that  came  first,  Mr.  George  said,  seemed 
to  try  to  protect  him,  but  it  was  impossible.  l  The  work  of 
house  breaking  and  plundering  proceeded  until  nearly  every 
locked  place  on  my  plantation  had  been  forcibly  entered — not 
excepting  the  basement  rooms  of  my  dwelling  house — some  of 
them  several  times.' 

"  His  '  crop  of  wheat  was  wasted  or  taken  off,  his  corn 
house  repeatedly  broken  open  and  the  corn  carried  off,  spring 
house  broken  open,  everything,  such  as  vessels}  &c.,  stolen 
and  taken  away.'  Then  came  fresh  regiments,  28th  New 
York  and  40th  Pennsylvania.  Depredations  proceeded.  <  My 
study  was  again  broken  open  and  robbery  was  the  order 
of  the  day.'  Geueral  Crawford  soon  after  came  and  estab- 
lished his  headquarters  in  my  yard,  and  although  he  con- 
tinued the  guard  granted  by  Colonel  Donelly,  and  appointed 
others,  it  seemed  impossible  to  arrest  the  work  of  house- 
breaking and  plunder,  which  was  increased  by  the  well  known 
order  of  Gen.  Pope.  *  *  *        *     * 

**  Gen.  Pope  and  his  staff  arrived,  and  my  yard  became  his 
headquarters  also.  No  sooner  had  his  train  arrived  than  my 
garden  enclosure,  in  different  places,  was  thrown  down,  a 
blacksmith  shop  set  up  in  the  garden,  and  various  horses 
tethered  in  it  also.  *  *  *  Almost  all  the  fencing 
on  my  plantation  was  now  burnt  up.     •  *  *       I  ad- 

dressed a  note  to  Gen.  Crawford's  A.  A.  G.  upon  the  sub- 
ject, and  the  next  day  received  a  verbal  reply  to  the  effect, 
that  although  'sorry  for  me  they  could  do  nothing  f on  my 
relief ^  and  that  I  had  fetter  prepare  to  submit  to  my  fate. ,' 

"  <  During  the  time  of  their  occupancy  of  my  premises,  my 
beautiful  farm  was  laid  waste,  the  meadow,  which  would  have 
yielded  not  less  than  fifty  tons  of  hay,  a  clover  field,  which 

7*  . 


142  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

would  have  produced  as  much  more,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  fine  sod  land,  two  thousand  bushels  of  wheat,  forty 
bushels  of  oats,  not  less  than  fifty  barrels  of  corn,  the  field  of 
growing  corn,  from  which  I  expected  a  yield  of  four  hundred 
barrels,  almost  destroyed  by  government  men  and  horses ; 
every  gate  on  my  farm  cut  up  or  broken,  carriage  curtains 
torn  off,  and  much  of  the  carriage  house  and  doors  burnt  up, 
fifteen  hundred  dollars  worth  of  horses  and  colts,  one  hun- 
dred dollars  worth  of  cattle,  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
worth  of  sheep,  one  hundred  dollars  worth  of  hogs,  together 
with  my  saddles  and  bridles,  wagon  harness,  &C.  *  *  * 
In  consideration  for  which,  I  have,  up  to  this  time,  a  quar- 
termaster's receipt  for  five  or  six  barrels  of  corn  and  twelve 
tons  of  hay.  *  *  *  I  became  acquainted  with  a 
number  of  jyrivateSj  who  seemed  to  understand  that  citizeus 
here  had  rights  that  ought  to  be  respected.  But  the  great 
body  of  them,  as  they  appeared  to  me,  delighted  in  that  in- 
terpretation of  Gen.  Pope's  order,  which  gives  a  license  for 
robbing  all  who  may  belong  to  '  ISecesh  Land.'  I  know  not 
how  often  bitter  curses  were  heaped  upon  me,  my  life  and 
the  destruction  of  my  property  threatened  for  kindly  remon- 
strating against  their  robbery.  In  somo  instances,  when 
asked  if  they  had  authority  from  a  quartermaster  or  commisT 
sioned  officer  to  appropriate  my  property  to  their  uses,  they 
referred  me  to  Gen.  Pope.  1  may  mention,  that  within  so 
many  weeks  my  study  was  five  times  broken  open,  and  my 
corn  house  and  barn  not  less  than  one  dozen  times,  each. 
This  brief  review  sickens  me.  I  feel  thankful  to  officers  and 
men  who  showed  me  kindness,  and  refer  the  cases  of  those  of 
a  contrary  character  to  the  decision  of  llim  who  judgeth 
righteously." 

From  the  same  series  of  records  we  take  the  following  de- 
scription of  the  Northern  soldiers  : 

"Of  the  rank  aud  file  I  know  but  little.  Some  companies 
seemed  to  be  of  a  decent  agricultural  or  mechanical  complex- 
ion; but  by  far  the  greater  part  were  the  most  unsavory  look- 
ing wretches  I  ever  beheld.  The  Irish  were  the  next  best ; 
then  came  the  genuine  Dutch,  about  as  cleanly  and  intellec- 
tual as  the  overgrown  sows  of  •  der  Vaterland.'  Meeting  a 
greasy  looking  beast  of  that  brood,  I  asked  him,  « What  do 


LIFE   OP   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  143 

you  want  here  ?  Are  you  fighting  for  fraternity  and  Union  V 
Perfectly  incapable  of  comprehending  mc,  he  drawled  out, 
'  Yak  !  Vat  you  mean  ?'  I  repeated  the  question  in  an  ex- 
planatory way,  but  in  vain.  As  I  turned  from  him,  he  said  : 
4  Ve  rifrs  mil  Zeigel ' !*  Next  came  the  selected  assassins  and 
thieves,  who  were  probably  received  upon  certificates  of  their 
actual  convictions  and  service  in  the  Penitentiaries.  And 
last,  and  worst  of  all,  the  Puritans  and  psalm-singers  of  pious 
New  England — their  care  to  look  after  the  little  niggers'  mo- 
rals, and  to  attend  to  the  general  business  of  the  Underground 
Railroad.  These  are  the  people  who  have  been  sent  with 
<  the  greatest  of  our  Generals, '  as  a  Northern  paper  calls 
Major-Geneta!  John  Pope — a  commander  suited  to  the  force, 
a  force  worthy  such  a  commander. 

u  When  the  celebrated  proclamation,  embodying  the  facts 
that  he  came  from  the  West,  never  looked  but  at  the  back*  of 
the  enemy,  and  had  established  his  headquarters  in  his  saddle, 
was  published,  he  was  not  yet  in  the  held  !  It  is  from  his 
arrival,  or  a  few  days  afterwards,  that  I  propose  to  take  him 
up,  and  to  proceed  to  recount  his  deeds  and  record  his  end." 

The  most  detailed  accounts  of  the  depredations  of  Pope's  ' 
troops  are,  however,  derived  from  the  enemy  themselves.  So 
shocking  were  these  permitted,  if  not  ordered  transgressions 
of  all  the  laws  of  decency  and  common  honesty,  that  even 
some  of  their  own  men  had  the  £>race  to  exclaim  against 
them,  and  demand,  for  the  honor  of  their  people,  that  these 
enormities  should  be  checked. 

One  of  these  Federal  correspondents  from  the  army  writes  : 

■"'  A  great  evil  exists  to  a  great  extent  in  the  army  of  Vir- 
ginia. I  allude  to  the  practice  of  procuring  (through  itine- 
rant traders  and  city  hucksters,)  every  denomination  of 
spurious  paper  and  broken  bauk  notes,  as  well  as  far  simile 
notes  of  the  Confederacy,  and  passing  them  indiscriminately 
upon  the  unsuspecting  inhabitants,  poor  as  well  as  rich,  old 
and  youn£,  male  and  female.  Your  correspondent  is  cogni- 
zant of  several  instances  where  this  has  been  perpetrated,  in 
return  for  kind  nursing  by  poor  aged  women.  Unless  this  sys- 
tem is  checked,  will  not  the  whole  couutry  be  overrun  by  the 
hordes  of  counterfeiters  and  swindlers  on  the  close  of  the 


144  LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

"  The  country  is  flooded  with  bogus  Becesh  money ;  it  is 
impossible,  in  many  oases,  to  tell  the  good  from  the  bad.  We 
went  into  a  small  store  at  'Orleans'  one  day,  where  they  were 
Belling  'tip  calico'  at  thirty-live  cents  pel  yard,  and  the  whole 
contents  of  the  store  yon  oould  carry  in  B  bushel  basket,  and 
found  the  proprietor  was  taking  all  the  paper  offered.  On 
looking  over  his  '.pile,'  we  found  lour  different  kinds  of 
Richmond  ones,  and  two  of  lives.  Many  were  the  most 
worthless  imitations.  He  was  very  indignant  at  'Banks's 
men,'  whom  he  alleges  passed  it  upon  him. 

"  .Meeting  an  aged  contraband  this  morning,  who  had  been 
into  camp  selling  eggs,  butter,  &c,  we  found  he  had  '  pay  for 
massa1  in  Secesh  paper,  nearly  all  bogus.  He  said  he  did 
not  care  what  kind  it  was  ;  he  took  whatever  was  offered." 

Another,  writing  from  Culpepper  Court-house,  draws  the 
full-length  picture  as  follows : 

11  The  Army  of  Virginia  has  undergone  a  marked  change 
in  a  very  important  particular.  The  new  usage  which  has 
been  instituted  in  regard  to  the  protection  of  Confederate 
property,  and  the  purpose  of  the  Government  to  subsist  the 
army,  as  far  as  practicable,  upon  the  enemy's  country,  has 
produced  a  decided  revolution  in  the  feelings  and  practices  of 
the  soldiery,  and  one  which  seems  to  me  very  much  to  be 
regretted. 

"  Unless  these  innovations  are  guarded  by  far  more  strin- 
gent safeguards  against  irregular  and  unauthorized  plunder- 
ing, we  shall  let  loose  upon  the  country,  at  the  close  of  the 
war,  a  torrent  of  unbridled  and  unscrupulous  robbers.  Rapid 
strides  toward  villainy  have  becu  made  during  the  last  few 
weeks.  Men  who  at  home  would  have  shuddered  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  touching  another's  property,  now  appropriate  re- 
morselessly whatever  comes  in  their  reach.  Thieving,  they 
imagine,  has  now  become  an  authorized  practice,  and,  under 
the  show  of  subsisting  themselves,  chickens,  turkies,  hams 
and  corn,  have  become  a  lawful  plunder,  with  little  discrimi- 
nation as  to  the  character  or  circumstances  of  the  original 
owner. 

"  It  is  to  me  a  very  serious  and  unfortunate  state,  of  facts, 
when  soldiers  will  rush  in  crowds  upon  the  smoke-house  of  a 
farmer,  and  each  quarrel  with  the  other  to  get  the  best  and 
greatest   share.     1   blush  when   I  state  that  on  the  march 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  145 

through  a  section  of  country,  every  spring-house  is  broken 
open,  and  butter,  milk,  eggs  and  cream  are  engulphed,  almost 
before  the^place  is  reached  by  the  men.  Calves  and  sheep, 
and,  in  fact,  anything  and  everything  serviceable  for  meat  or 
drink,  or  apparel,  are  not  safe  a  moment  after  the  approach  of 
the  army.  Even  things  apparently  useless  are  snatched  up, 
because,  it  would  suein,  many  men  love  to  steal. 

"  At  a  place  where  I  not  long  ago  spent  a  night,  scarcely 
an  article  to  which  the  fertility  of  a  soldier  could  suggest  the 
slightest  use  remained  to  the  owner  unon  the  following  morn- 
ing. There  had  been  soldiers  there,  you  might  wager.  Pans, 
kettles,  dish-cloths,  pork,  poultry,  provisions,  and  everything 
desirable,  had  disappeared.  The  place  was  stript,  aud  with- 
out any  process  of  commissary  or  quartermaster.  So  it  has 
been  in  innumerable  instances.  Many  a  family,  incapable 
of  sustaining  the  slightest  loss,  has  actually  been  deprived 
of  all. 

"  I  not  long  ago  saw  a  dozen  soldiers  rushing  headlong 
through  a  field,  each  anxious  to  get  the  first  choice  of  three 
horses  shading  themselves  quietly  under  a  tree.  The  animals 
made  their  best  time  into  the  farthest  corner  of  the  field, 
with  the  men  close  upon  them ;  and  the  foremost  ones  caught 
their  prizes  and  bridled  them  as  if  they  had  a  perfect  immu- 
nity in  such  things.  A  scene  followed.  A  young  lady  came 
out  and  besought  the  soldiers  not  to  take  her  favorite  pony. 
The  soldiers  were  remorseless  and  unyielding,  and  the  pony  is 
now  in  the  army. 

"  I  know  a  case  where  a  family  were  just  seating  themselves 
to  dinner,  when  some  of  the  soldiers  being  that  way,  they 
went  in  and  swallowed  everything.  That  was  not  all ;  but 
whatever  in  doors  and  out  of  doors  the  soldiers  wanted  was 
readily  appropriated,  and  the  proprietor  of  the  place  told  me 
sorrowfully  that  they  had  ruined  him — he  never  could  now 
get  out  of  debt.  I  hardly  regretted  his  misfortune  so  much 
on  his  account  as  for  the  influence  of  this  thieving  upon  the 
soldiers.  I  was  really  gratified  to  hear  his  little  boy  say, 
1  Pap  says  he  wouldn't  vote  the  secession  ticket  again  if  he 
had  the  chance.'  His  patriotism  was  evidently  drawing  too 
heavily  upon  his  fortunes,  and  I  was  rejoiced  to  find  him  in 
an  inquiring  state  of  niin^.  But  unless  a  check  is  given  to 
this  promiscuous  and  unauthorized  plundering,  the  discipline 
and  value  of  the  army  will  be  destroyed ;  and  when  the  en- 


146  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

listmcnts  have   expired,  we  shall  let  loose  a  den  of  thieves 
upon  the  country. 

"One  favorite  form  in  which  this  will  exhibit  -itself  is  the 
passing  of  Philadelphia  Confederate  notes.  Whenever  we 
advance  into  a  new  Section,  the  floodgates  are  immediately 
opened,  and  the  fac  rimih  Confederate  notes  are  poured  out 
upon  the  land.  They  pass  readily,  and  seem  to  be  taken 
gladly  for  whatever  is  held  for  sale.  Bank  notes  and  shin- 
plasters  arc  given  for  change.  Horses  and  other  valuable 
property  are  often  purchased  with  this  currency.  A  party  of 
soldiers  entered  a  store,  not  long  since,  fortified  with  exhaust- 
less  Quantities  of  V's  and  X's,  and  commenced  buying.  Forty 
pounds  of  sugar  was  first  ordered,  when  the  storekeeper, 
pleased  with  the  sudden  increase  of  business,  called  in  his 
wife  to  assist  him  in  putting  up  the  sugar  in  small  parcels. 
Seventy-five  cents  a  pound  was  the  cost.  That  was  a  small 
matter.  Matches  were  purchased.  Twenty-five  cents  per 
box  was-  the  charge.  Tobacco  also  found  a  ready  market. 
Each  man  provided  himself  with  a  straw  hat.  But  the  crown-  * 
ing  act  of  all  was  the  abstraction  from  the  till  of  money  al- 
ready paid  to  the  dealer  for  his  goods,  aud  the  purchase  of 
more  goods  with  the  same  spurious  medium." 

Such  were  the  outrages  practised  on  the  unarmed  inhabi- 
tants of  Culpepper  by  this  band  of  brigands — this  motley 
crew  of  jail  birds,  malefactors,  released  convicts,  and  Dutch- 
Yankee  vermin,  from  the  cellars  and  rookeries  of  Europe 
and  the  North.  Their  unbridled  license  was  known  and  per- 
mitted by  Pope;  and  though  he  subsequently  issued  an  order 
declaring  that  such  proceedings  were  unauthorized,  aud  must 
cease,  he  only  did  so,  when  even  the  Northern  people — veno- 
mous as  was  their  hatred  of  the  rebels — began  to  murmur  at 
such  incredible  villainies. 

The  plague,  as  of  obscene  vermin,  had,  however,  been  let 
loose,  and  had  done  its  work.  The  Federal  horde  had  passed 
over  the  land,  and  left  a  desert  behind  them.  The  fences 
had  disappeared  ;  the  forests  were  felled  ;  the  farm  lands 
were  turned  into  common  ;  and  so  thorough  had  been  the 
work  of  pillage  and  rapine   that  heads   of   families  began 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  147 

seriously  to  dread  that  their  little  children  would  soon  be 
without  bread.  When  the  writer  of  these  lines  passed 
through  Culpepper  in  August,  a  few  days  after  Pope's  disap- 
pearance, it  was  as  much  as  he  he  could  do  to  procure  food 
for  himself  and  forage  for  his  horse. 

Pope  advanced  toward  the  Rapidan,  and  had,  as  yet,  en- 
countered no  foes.  His  right  extended  to  the  foot  of  the 
Blue  Ridge,  his  left  toward  the  confluence  of  the  Rappahan- 
nock and  Rapidan.  The  vast  horde  advanced,  sweeping 
all  before  it;  and  the  people  of  the  North  hailed  with  noisy 
triumph,  the  successful  march,  to  this  central  position,  of  the 
"greatest  of  our  generals." 

This  was  the  state  of  things  in  the  last  days  of  July ;  and 
Geu.  Pope  looked  with  longing  eyes  toward  Gordonsville, 
where  he  had  already,  in  fancy,  established  his  headquarters, 
and  whence  he  would  descend,  like  an  avalanche,  upon  the 
metropolis  of  the  South. 

Man  proposes ;  God  disposes.  That  destiny  which  would 
so  soon  crush  him  like  an  egg-shell,  iu  an  iron  hand,  was 
already  on  the  march. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

CEDAR  RUN. 

When  Gen.  Pope  thus  advanced  toward  the  Rapidan,  se- 
riously threatening,  with  his  large  force,  the  Central  Railroad 
at  Gordonsville,  Gen.  McClellan  was  still  with  a  considerable 
portion  of  his  army  at  Harrison's  Landing,  and  professed  to 
design  another  attack  upon  Richmond.  It  was  thus  rendered 
necessary  for  the  Confederate  government  to  retain  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  troops  at  the  Capital  to  repulse  any  move- 
ment from  that  direction. 


IH  LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

Io  was  equally  important,  however,  to  check  Geri.  Pope; 
and  to  that  end,  (Icn.  Jackson,  who  had  gone  into  camp  on 
the  Mechanics ville  road,  not  Par  from  Richmond,  was  directed 
to  proceed  toward  Gordonsville,  and  guard  that  point  against 
the  threatened  assault  upon  it. 

His  own  ''old  Division,"  and  Gen.  Ewell's,  were  accord- 
ingly moved  in  that  direction  and  reached  Gordonsville  on 
i  he  10th  of  July. 

Receiving  reliable  Information  that  the  Federal  army  in 
his  front  greatly  outnumbered  his  own  forces,  Jackson  sent 
back  to  Gen.  Lee  for  additional  troops,  and  was  reinforced  by 
Gen.  A.  P.  Hill's  Division. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  advanced  forces  of  cavalry,  on 
both  sides,  came  into  collision.  On  the  2d  of  August,  whilst  * 
Col.  Jones,  by  direction  of  Brig.  Gen.  Robertson,  was  moving^ 
with  the  7th  Virginia  Cavalry,  to  take  charge  of  picket  posts 
on  the  Rapidan,  he  received  intelligence,  before  reaching 
Orange  Court  House,  that  the  euemy  were  in  possesssion  of 
that  town.  Continuing  to  advance,  Col.  Jones  found  the 
main  street  full  of  Federal  cavalry,  and  charged  the  head  of 
the  enemy's  column — another  portion  of  the  regiment,  under 
Major  Marshall,  attacking  them  in  flank.  Both  attacks  were 
successful,  and  the  euemy  were  driven  from  the  place.  But 
our  forces  were  still  greatly  outnumbered  ;  and,  in  consequence 
of  the  large  body  of  the  enemy  in  front,  together  with  the 
fire  of  their  flanking  parties,  Jones  was  compelled  to  fall 
back.  He  made  another  stand,  however,  not  far  from  the 
town,  and  the  Federal  cavalry  retired.  In  this  brief  contest 
Col.  Jones,  while  gallantly  charging,  at  the  head  of  his  men, 
received  a  sabre  wound,  and  Major  Marshall  was  captured. 

Having  received  information  that  only  a  part  of  Gen. 
Pope's  army  was  at  Culpepper  Court  House,  Gen.  Jackson  de- 
termined to  advance  and  attack  it  before  reinforcements 
arrived  ;  and  accordingly,  on  the  7th  of  August,  moved  with 
his  entire   force  from   Gordonsville  in   the  direction  of  the 


811 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  149 

enemy.  On  the  morning  of  the  8  th*  Gen.  Robertsou's  cav- 
alry, which  had  advanced  beyond  the  Rapidan,  drove  back 
that  of  the  <memy,  and  pursued  them. on  the  road  leading 
from  Barnett's  Ford  to  Culpepper  Court  House,  the  rest  of 
the  troops  following,  with  Ewell's  Division  in  front.  The 
enemy's  cavalry  continued,  however,  to  display  unusual  ac- 
tivity, and  to  guard  his  trains,  which  were  seriously  endan- 
gered, Jackson  detached  Gen.  Lawton's  Brigade,  which  -tfas 
thus  prevented  from  taking  part  in  the  battle  of  the  next  day. 

On  the-  9th  of  August,  Jacksou  reached  a  point  about 
eight  miles  from  Culpepper  Court  House,  and  found  the  enemy 
posted  in  heavy  force,  in  his  front,  near  Cedar  Run,  and  a 
short  distance  west  and  north  of  Slaughter  Mountain  A 
rge  body  of  Federal  cavalry  occupied  a  ridge  on  the  right 

the  road,  but  retired  when  a  battery,  under  Lieut.  Terry, 
opened  upon  it.  The  fire  was  responded  to  by  a  battery  of 
the  enemy  beyond  the  ridge ;  and  his  cavalry  subsequently 
returned,  and  re-occupied  its  former  position.  • 

General  Early  was  now  ordered  to  advance,  keeping  near 
the  Culppeper  road ;  and  General  Ewell,'with  his  two  remain- 
ing brigades — Trimble's  and  Hays's,  the  latter  commanded  by 
Colonel  Ferns — was  directed  to  diverge  to  the  right,  and 
pass  along  the  slope  of  Slaughter's  Mountain.  Early,  form- 
ing in  line  of  battle,  moved  into  the  open  field,  and  pushed 
forward  to  the  right  of  the  road,  driving  the  enemy's  cavalry 
before  him  to  the  crest  of  a  hill  which  overlooked  the  ground 


O' 


between  his  troops  and  the  opposite  hill.  Along  this  hill  the 
enemy's  batteries  were  posted,  ready  to  open  as  soon  as  he 
appeared.  In  his  front  the  country  was,  for  some  distance, 
open  and  broken.  A  corn-field,  and  to  the  left  of  it  a  wheat- 
field,  upon  which  the  shocks  were^et  standing,  extended  to 
t£e  opposite  hill,  which  was  covered  with  timber.  As  soon 
as  Early  reached  the  eminence  described,  the  Federal  batte- 
ries opened  upon  him,  large  bodies  of  cavalry  appeariug  in 
the  wheat-field  to  the  left.     General  Early  having  retired  his 


150  LIFE   OF  LlJUrACK 

troops  under  the  protection  of  th  .  with 

one    ,  pieces,  planted 

the;:  ed  a  rapid  and 

Well  (Jin 

By    this   ti 
had   arrived.     Having  le,  Lieut. 

Colon  .  under  cover  of  the 

wood  allel  to  the 

I3  in  rear  oi  f  Cas« 

l:ie,  road,  under 

of  Major  Ae  '  y  of    the     '   '        ;  and 

tnilKading,    as    a 

I  -  *fLj 
when    he  'vfl| 
Lied   in  a  l'<_w  hours. 
'•  in  the  }  roj  er  re- 
Wwc  0  •:!,  to  do  i  the  merits  oi' 

accompli  ,1   Direct^  to 

no  part   '  of.  "the  d  of  the 

then  cnfeeMcd  .    his  heahh,..l$Pardcnt  patriotism  and 

military  pride  could  hoar  no  such  restraint,  llichly  cpdowed 
wilh'jjose  qualities  oi*  mind  and  person  which  fit  an  officer 
for  command,  and  titration   ;;ud  excite 

the  enthusiasm  of  troops,  hi  ■:  to  the  front 

rank  of  his  p  .      His  I<        I        been       vfrcly  felt." 

The  command  of  -  Brig. 

(Jen  We  during  the#*cia^p- 

der  of  th  ■.<  I  ,\.  (<.  '.' 

neral    IS  well,  with    the  brigades   of 
Trimble   and    Hays,  relied    rl.c    northwest    term; 
Slau  |   about  two 

hundred  •  below,  had^lan ted  Latimfps 

guns,  which  opened  with  mart  1  effect  uppn  the  enemy's 
batteries..  For  id   and   continuous  fire 

ofWirtillcry  was  kept  up  on  both  sides,  our *w"n  batteries  being 


LIFE"  OP   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  151 

admirably  served,  and  dami  eriously.     Ma- 

jor Andrews  handled  his  guns  with  great  gallantry  and  suc- 
cess, until  he  was  severely  and  taken  from -the  field. 
About 'five  o'clock  the.  enemy  threw  Forward  Iris  skirmishers 

!  #  through  the  corn-field,  and  advanced  his  infantry,  until  then 
concealed  in  the  wood,  to  the  rear  and  left  of  his  batl 
Another  body  of  infanti  -  debouchi  one  of 

those  valleys,  !  racier 

%f  the  country,  moved  at  t-  .ly's' right, 

which  rested  near  a  clump  of  cedars,  where  the  guns  of 
Brown  and   Dement  v,  infantry  fight  soon* 

extended  to  the  kf  :y  cu£|ged 

j^^ith  the  enemy  on  his  right  and  front.      As^eifriLLphad 

Mprrivcd  with  his  divisiyn,  one  of  1  I  Thomas's, 

Was  senj^o  Early,  and  joined  him  in  time  to  render  efficient 
service.  ^ 

Whilst  the  attack  upon  E  in  progress,  the  main 

b(J%  of  t)\Q  Federal  infantry  moved  down  from  the  wood, 
through  the  corn  and  wheat  di^reat  vigor  upon 

our  extreme  left,  an  I,  by  the  i'rec  o^wAerior  numbers,  bear- 
in/  down  all  opposition,  turned  it,  and  poured  a  de  truetive 
five  into  its  rear.  The  enemy  pushing  forward,  and  the  left 
flank  of  Taliaferro's  Brigade  being,  by  these  movements,  ex- 
posed to  a  flank  fire,  fell  back,  as  did  also  the  left  of  Early's 
line,  the  bemainder  of  his  command  hoMh  ,  with 

great  firmness. 
^Curing  the  advanJI  of  the  enemy,  the  rcarjt£he  guns  of 

^^Hj^son's  division  becoming  ex;  ~fe  withdrawn. 

y^dt  this  critical  moment,»Braneh's  brig:  1c  of  II  ill's  divj 
■feith  Winder's  brigade  further  lo^Uie  left,  met  the  F 
^ttces  flushed  with  their  tempdaw  trove  them 

Wck  .with  terrilye  slaughter  h  the  woods.     The  fight 

a.      still  maintained  with   obstinacy  between  the  enemy  and 
the  two  brigadesjnst  named,  when  Archer  and  Pender  coming 
up,  a  general  ch*gc  was  made,  which  drove  the  enemy  across 
•  ft    # 


L52  LIFE   OF   STONE'VtaS.LL   JACKSO^ 

tlio  Held  iuto  -the  opposite  wood,  strewing  the  narrow  valley 
with  their  dead.  To  retrieve  this  serious  disaster  they  had 
recourse  to  their  cavalry.  An  impetuous  charge  was  made 
upon  Taliaferro's  brigade  ;  but  the  Ihemy  were  met  with  such 
determined  resistance  by  Taliaferro  in  front,  and  by  so  gall- 
ing a  lire  Prow  Branch's  brigade  in  flank,  that  their  cavalry 
was  driven  from  the  field  in  disorder,  and  with  heavy  loss. 

On  tin>  right,  Ewell  had  becu  forced  to  remain  inactive. 
The  incessant  fire  of  our  batteries  in  the  valley,  sweeping 
his  only  aprjroach  to  the  enemy's  left,  had  prevented  him  from 
advancing.  This  difhculty  now  no  longer  existing,  he  moved 
forward  w\th  his  two  brigades, Trimble  iu.the  advance,  aud 
pressed  on  under  a  heavy  fire  from  the  enemy's  artillery — his 
front  covered  by  skirmishers  from  the  15th  Alabama,  and  the 
brigades  advancing  in  echelon  of  regiments.  Thus  repulsed 
from  our  left  and  centre,  and  now  pressed  by  our  right,  centre, 
and  left,  the  cneinv  fell  back  at  every  point  of  his  line,  and 
retreated,  leaving  hii  dead  and  wounded  on  the  field  of  battle. 

Tha  bloody  contest  had  thus  terminated  in  the  complete 
rout  of  the  Federal  forces,  and  the  piles  of  dead  which  met 
the  eye  upon  every  hand  bore  witness  to  the  fury  with  which 
the  conflict  liad  raged.  Engaging  a  force  outnumbering  him 
two  to  one,  with  heavy  reinforcements  hurrying"  forward  to 
overwhelm  him,  Jackson  had  held  his  grouud  with  that  stub- 
born nerve  which  had  never  yet  failed  to  compel^  unwilling 
victory  to  his  standard.  The  enemy  had  fought  hard,  but 
had  fought  in  v,ain.  They  had  advanced  with  jests  and 
triumphant  laughter ;  with  the  assured  expectation  of  utterly 
annihilating  their  opponents;  with  "Booty  and  BeautJ^ 
awaiting  them  in  the  fresh  iields  of  Central  A^irginia.  But  Upj 
their  path  they  had  found  the  inexorable  Stonewall,  ContOT^ 
with  that  fatal  obstacle  had  shattered  them;  and  at  nightflJJ 
they  retreated,  broken,  and  in  confusion  through  the  woods" 
full  of  dead  and  dying. 

As  night  fell,  the  full-orbed  moon  soared?  aloft,  and  poured 


#IFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  '•    i53 

its  mellow  light  upou  the  field  of  carnage.  Jackgon  had  again 
triumphed  over  his  enemies — the  Coasted  power  of  Pope  was 
broken  in  his  grasp,  aud  all  was  well. 

Over  the  beautiful  slopes  of  Culpeper  covered  with  the 
wounded  and  dying;  the  battle  flag  of  the  South  floated 
proudly  in  the  light  of  the  calm  August  moon. 


CHAPTER  XX 

■ 

^.  DETAILS.  •$£ 

Thus  commenced  that  great  moven^nt  of  tlwConfecrerate 
forces  northward,  which  drove  the  enemy  irom  Virginia  and 
obliged  him  finally  to  concentrate  his  entire  available  strength 
in  Maryland  for  the  defence  of  his  own  soil. 

In  the  midst  of  their  dreams  of  triumph  they  had  received 

a    staggering  blow  ;    their    further    progress  was    summarily 

checked  ;  and  the  imposing  array  which  had  advanced  in  all 

the  pomp  and  pride  of  war,  was  a  disorderly  mob,  rather  than 

"aSarmy,  flying  to  that  "rear"  where  their  General  had  per- 

'  petually  declared  "  lurked  disaster  and  shanie." 

The  hand  which  struck  them  thus  heavily  was  Jackson's — 
that  ubiquitous  fate  of  Northern  leaders,  meeting  and  over- 
throwing them  at  every  turn.  Two  months  before  he  had 
defeated  Fremont  and  Shields  at  Port  Republic ;  fess"  than 
three  weeks  afterwards  his  troops  had  suddenly  appeared  near 
Richmond,  aud  hurling  themselves  upon  McClellan's  right,  . 
^felided  the  event  of  the  lard  fought  field  at  Cold  Harbor. 
fc-Now,  those  same  unresting  men,  under  the  same  indefatigable 
commander,  had  emerged  from  the  woods  of  Culpeper  and 
fyrmed  line-of:battle  in  front  of  Pope,  ajid  struck  and  over- 
threw him. 

Nothing  could  have  astonished  the  enemy  more  than  the 


154  LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSO^ 

presence,   there,   «f  the  invincible,  us   "StonewalJ 

J^kson,"  as  tfctej  univ6rsaUj  called  iim.      Bui   a   rhorfc  time 
before  the  battle  h  'pidly 

advancing  down  the  ThdjJ^deml 

camps  there  v,  flfciult;  th  beat  to  arm?*  ana 

the  '  '  \  liters, 

remi        '  .  brief  blunt  woxds  of  Jacksoflw] 

lie  fell* back  iftt,  that  "he  Kould  r^im  as^iu  shortly, 
i 

While  the  enemy  a'  tcr  wer"  thus  beating  tl^fcong 

roll  in  €spe#tati,onVoi  ffl|  .Qpinibj^  he  was  near  svillej 

-tded,  he  had  passed  the  Rapidan, 

an^iefelSa  the." greatest  of  our  Generals/'     Sthe  North^hi 

I  le  b  _  ra  to  experience  KjPward  Jackson  the  sen^i^nt  of 

Lthe  termor  the.  middle age,  when   they  quieted 

/ijAjiiMrcii  with  i  lush  !  Jtkor  Black 

It  is  more  thajtomba])le  flil&l. General  Pope  and  his  follow- 


li^lnno- 


this^KS^-     When  Jjie   .uams   began  to  ro 


:•  Hun,  thi.  oii^M^^aaV'  pcn^Lai 

i:i  wi.  f  ;;lu#^d  with 

nouncemeni — vl  g^rfWfRe  front  to seWI  iciver 

emtiz 


assert,  with  ih  •  hau_  ring  ofAg^lio  had  never- cs 

ricnce^wieijiiotion  <s:  had  no  doubt  of  the  result  ; 

but  he  stopped  before  reacflng  ihe  battle-field.  t  He  allowed 


••qdjBiQ.^u^efcut^l  withi i ; 

■!]»!  LuSMja'  tnem.  -*IIc  saMHthoiu  rVsh 


him;  and  made 
ipt  t^MJA-  tricm.  «*IIc  sachem  fishing  in  a  disord 
crowd   towaw^th:'  fyand   djj  not  iuter'r 

their  path,     •hese  .  comAktly  established  ;  u^iTt 

general,  ^jw>'  -.nue  under 

speller  JacKSonj   to   '.  in   arid 

bri 


m in  contact  with  that*'  is" '  of  ll^gigouW. 

attle  of  Cecjjr  linn   v,afl.^)knned    and^feccuted  wijfl 
that  skill  and  nerve    which   dJMfetcrfe^ikall   the    military 


V 


'  — LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  155 

% 

movements  of  General  Jackson.  lie  had  opposed  to  him, 
flpcordin*  to  Pope V  official  reporff?3anks  and  ^ie^el's  «corps, 
a  division  from  that  of  Mc  .  aniountfrlg  in  iAo 

,0jAfroops.     To  meet  the: ;c  .'"■   -h,  thoroughly 

quipPcd,  and  flushed  wi  .  ■  Md  only 

two  Avisidns,  irtiooBtf  a  third.     These  statements 

rMide  fromsDxTiciki]  ;  »%* 

ConflRc 


A||  Til 


frompaffi<^l  } 
j  conflict,  ^ricn^-r 


slUSt    : 

iod  ,- 


'crtffc    victory 
,./u   ay;  to, 

B^'oi'  the  ▼attic,  S  portion  of  the  ■Southern  troops  were 
M&y  numbers  so  o*«H'v, "  !£wW  forced 

back,  throvtfxitf*)  di     r.le/;   :.;  i  |c  day   seemed  VJfcufe^kj  tye 
decided  i;:  lav- •  -at  that 

;.i^nt  and  delibejpte,  wait  " 
tcred  by  th^  genius  of  'Jj^BfiC^  exhibited,  a.',  he  had  rarc- 

]    pasox::;ue  ex- 


ly  do«c  JK>iae  tji  . 

which  M  ural  displayed  in  hi 
lopittg  to  the  f.  i  rled  agaiu.-t  his 


a 


1  liuas 
of  the  i-.-i', 
dj  his  v 

iq  a  mo;*^^; 
with  the  Bayonet^  *ms 

vdicc;  the  sight  oi' 

them  on,  produced  ;ri  frreai 


effect  um 


the 

advarypd  with  shoutJHEftjj^£ruek  frSyor* 


Way  before  the 

iiin^'v  lire,  his    face 

Indent  tones,  he  rallied 

Htgair.  into  line,     llav- 

rrib'e  lire  of  the  foe,  he 

orjlei^o  charge 

a  ope,  and 

cheering 

They 


ts  of  the 
and  the 


^|fM[f',i     ground  ^iiieh  ilu*:  v;hI  Iojjkw!l^i'eg^Rd ) 
^acifly,  in  thaiy  tUra^  driven  back,  a-iid  fimHIy  ^it  'to  rout^» 


;ur.;,  ( 
c^  wlio^rw^Bel^fom  at  the  i 

rthuir    -;  ■  the  front,  and   thus   r 

e  verj*  j!iws  of  destruction,  declare  fhat  he  rcse 


ised 


genius  t>£  icmBPfo  iu- 
T$ie  conflict  continued 


* 


passe 

is  men,  in 

Med  the* 


c  have  seen,  uldil  night.     The 


tor  a  tor- 

morn. 


156  LIFE   OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

Southern  troops  were  greatly  exhausted  by  the  arduous  strug^ 
gtaand  the  Jipurs  of  darkness  were  net-  propitious  for  a  In- 
ward movement  :  hut  so  anxious  was  Jackson  to  re 
enemy's  stronghold  at  Culpepper  CouM  House  before 
that  he  determined  to  pursue.      An  advance  was  accordingly 
ordered,  Hill's  division  in   front  ;   and   ai'ter  proceediDg|ca^ 
tiously  for  about  a  mile  and  a  half,  they  came  on  the  enei 
IN  -grain'*  battery,  supported  By  Fields  s  Brigade,  took  po^tMB 
just    beyond  the  wood,  through  which  Jackson   had  passed; 
and   suddenly  opened  upoif  the  enemy  before  they  suspected 
its  presence.     The  result  was  gratifying.      The  Federal  forces 
were  tin-own    into  complete   confusion    and   scattered  in  every 
direction,  to  escape  the  shell  rained  down  on  them.     A  des- 
perate effort  was  made  to  cover  their  further  retreat,  however 
and  it  proved  successful.      Three  of  their  batteries  were  soon 
worked   into   position;  a  heavy  cannonade   commenced;  and 
although  the  single  battery  of  the  Confederates  fought  the 
three  opposed  to  it  with    unflinching  nerve,   it    was   final 
silenced  and  forced  to  retire  with  severe  loss 

This  terminated  the  fighting  for  that  day.  Colonel 
having  made  a  reconnoissance  with  his  cavalry,  in  front  and 
to  the  right  of  the  Confederate  lines,  and  ascertained  that 
Federal  reinforcements  had  arrived,  Jackson  considered  it 
imprudent  to  continue  to  move  forward  during  the  darkness, 
and  ordered  a  halt  for  the  night.  On  the  following  morning, 
the  10th,  having  reason  to  believe  that  the  Federal  army  had 
been  so  largely  reinforced  as  to  under  it  unadvisalde  to 
attempt  a  further  advance,  Jackson  gave  directions  wt .Iris 
wounded  to  be  sent  to  the  rear,  the  dead  to  be  buried,, ana 
for  the  collection  of  arms  from  the  battle-field.  In  the  course' 
of  the  morning,  General  J.  V).  B.  8tuart  arrived,  on  a  tour  of 
inspection,  and  at  Jackson's  request  took  command  of  the 
cavalry^  and  proceeded  to  reconnoitre.  Convinced  by  the  re- 
port of  General  Stuart,  and  information  derived  from  other 
sources,  that   the  enemy's   force  concentrated  in  his  front 


LIFE.  OF   .STONEWALL   JACKSON.  157 

was  so  heavy  as  to  render   it  unAvi.se  for  him  to  renew  the 
action,   General    Jackson   determined    not   to  advancf   upou 

them — hut  posted  his  troops  in  Mich  a  manner  as  to  receive 
any  attack  of  the  enemy.  On  the  11th,  a  flag  of  true.'  was 
received  from  the  Federal  commander,  who  requested  per- 
mission until  2  o'clock  to  remove  and  bury  his  dead,  not 
already  interred  by  our  troops.  This  was  granted;  and  tin' 
tMHe  subsequently  extended,  by  request  of  the  enemy,  to  5 
•o'clock  in  the  evening. 

Jackson  remained  in  position  until  night — August  11th — 
when  he  fell  back  toward  <.»ordonsville;  with  (lie  hope  of 
drawing  Tope  on,  procuring  reinforcements,  and  meeting  tin' 
vast  column's  of  the  enemy  upon  more  equal  terms. 

Jackson  had  thus  encountered  and  defeated  a  greatly  supe- 
rior force  of  the  enemy;  driven  them  nearly  two  miles:  re- 
mained in  possession  of  the  battle-field,  forcing  them  to  a:  k 
p<  rnii-Hon  to  bury  their  dead,  and,  only  when  they  received 
overpowering  reinforcements,  fallen  back.  He  had  captured 
400  prisoners,  among  then  a  brigadier-general,  5,302  small 
arms,  one  Napoleon  gun  and  caisson,  with  two  otic;-  caissons 
and  a  limber,  and  three  stands  of  Cjlors  His  loss  was  22.'> 
killed  and  1,000  wounded  ;  but  this  he  said,  in  his  guarded 
phrase,  was  only  "probably  about  one-half  of  that  sustained 
b\  the  enemy." 

The  victory  had  been  dearly  purchased.  Some  of  the  most 
valuable  officers  and  men  had  fallen;  among  the  former,  Gen 
Charles  Winder  and  Col.  Richard  II.  Cunningham.  Gen 
Winder  had  long  been  in  command  of  the  "Old  Stonewall 
Brigade,"  and  had  fought  it  with  a  skill  and  courage  which 
extorted  the*warjnest  commendation  from  Jackson.  Colonel 
Cunningham,  commanding  the  21st  Virginia;  had  proved 
himself  a  most  accomplished  soldier,  and  ^enjoyed  the  full 
confidence  of  his  superiors  and  his  men.  These  two  noble 
soldiers  were,  at  the  time,  prostrated  by  sickness,  and  on 
i  he  night  before  the  balfcle  occupied  the  same  tent.  Their 
S 


158  LIFE  or   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

physical  weakness  would  have  imply  excused  them  for  re- 
maining absent  from  their  commands ;  but  the  high  soldierly 
pride  which  animated  their  hearts  would  not  permit  them  to 
he  idle  lookers  on,  while  their  comrades  were  contending  so 
Si  sperately  against  the  heavy  columns  of  the  enemy.  They 
tqpk  command  of  their  troops  in  the  battle,  gave  their  small 
Dgth  to  the  cause  which  they  loved  so  deeply, 
and  (Jell,  at  the  post  of  honor,  noble  martyrs  in  the  great 
...ii-.'  of  Southern  independence. 

.Jackson  fell  back  behind  the  Rapidan,  and  on  the  14th  of 
August — "to  render  thanks  to  God  for  the  victory  at  Cedar 
[tun,  and  other  past  victories,  and  to  implore  his  continual 
favor  in  the  future — Divine  service  was  held  in  the  army." 
On  the  plains  of  Orange,  as  amid  the  blue  ranges  of  the 
mountains  after  McDowell,  the  followers  of  Jackson  bent 
tb<  ir  bronzed  laces  in  prayer  to  the  Giver  of  Victory. 

Jackson's  dispatch  announcing  the  result  of  the  battle  Was 
a    folio 

"Head  Quarters  Valley  District,  / 
August  llth,  (M  A.  M.      j 

Colonel  :  On  the  evening  of  the  9tn  instant,  God  blessed 
our  anus  with  another  victory.  The  battle  was  near  Cedai 
Run,  about  six  miles  from  Culpepper  Court-house.  The 
nitiny,  according  to  statements  of  prisoners,  consisted  of 
Banks',  McDowell's  and  Seigel's  commands.  We  have  over 
four  hundred  prisoners,  including  Brigadier- General  Prince 
Whilst  our  list  of  killed  is  less  than  that  of  the  enemy,  yet 
we  have  to  mourn  the  loss  of  some  of  our  best  officers  and 
men.  Brigadier-General  Charles  S.  Winder  was  mortalrj 
wounded  whilst  ably  discharging  his  duty  at  the  head  of  hi 
command,  which  was  the  advance  of  the  left  wing  of  the 
We  have  collected  about  1,500  small  arms  and  other 
ordnance  stores,. 

I  am,  Colonel, 

Your  obedient  servant., 

T.  J.  Jackson, 
Major-  Central  Commanding 

Col.  U.  II.  Chilton,  A.  A.  G." 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON.  •  159 

General  Pope's  was  in  these  words  : 

"Head  Quarters  Army  of  Virginia,      | 
Cedar  Mountain,  7:30  A.  M..  Aug.  L2.  ) 

To  Major-General  HalleCk: 

The  enemy  has  retreated  uuder  cover  of  thei  night. 
His   rear   is   now  crossing  the   Rapidan,   toward.-;   Orang< 
Oourt-house. 

Our  cavalry  and  artillery  are  in  pursuit. 

J6hn   Pope, 

)/,//',-/   General 


chapter  xxr.     . 

THl:    MARCH    to    lfANA8SA8 

Jackson   thus  retired    before   the  enemy   toward   Uranj 
The  foe,' who  kuew  his  paode  of  warfare,  seldom  pressed  him 
hard,  and  General    Pope's  '-cavalry  and  artillery  in  pursuit' 
did  not  make  very  zealous  efforts  to  come  up  with  the  Con- 
federates. 

The  enemy  seemed,  indeed,  to  have  a  presentiment  of  the 
truth;  to  comprehend  that  this  retrograde  movemeni  was, 
in  reality,  the  drawing  back  of  the  arm  to  strike  a  heavier 
hlow;  the  crouch  of  the  tiger  that  he  may  spring  with  greater 
force  and  certainty  upon  his  prey. 

The  special  pleading  of  General  Pope,  in  regard  to  the 
battle  of  Cedar  Run,  deceived  none  of  the  astute  authorities 
at  Washington,  and  they  speedily  arrived  at  the  conviction 
that,  to  make  headway  in  the  new  field  of  operations,  it  would 
be  necessary  to  concentrate  there  all  the  troops  which  were 
operating  in  Virginia.  A  brief  period  only  had,  therefore, 
elapsed  before  a  fleet  of  transports  appeared  in  James  river, 
proceeded  to  Harrison's  Lauding,  and  took  on  board  the  entire 
remnant  of  McClellan's  army,  which  had  lain  there  cowering 


160  1-lFi:   OF    BTONBWALI   JAOK80N. 

under  the  gunb  ■■■  their  defeat  on  the  Chickahominy. 

The  plan  of  the  Federal  authorities  was  to  unite  McClcllah's 
forces  with  thpsfe  of  Pope;  to  hurry  forward  from  Frederi* 
burg  the  fc^oops  under  GTeneral  Bumside,  and  forming  one 
I  ;•  army  of  these  three  distinct  bodies,  concentrate  them 
between  the  Rappahannock  and  the  Rapidan,  with  a  view  to 
heart  of  Virginia,  cut  the  communications  of 
the  Confederate  capital,  and  either  drive  thi  rebel  government 
from  the  State,  or  reduce  it  to  submission. 

This  design  was  energetically  undertaken,  and  the  Con  fed- 
erates were  promptly  culled  on  to  decide  whether  they  would 
stand  on  the  defensive,  for  the  protection  of  Richmond  againsl 
this  new  attack,  or  advance  upon  the  enemy,  and  "carry  the 
War  into  Africa." 

The  latter  determination  was  speedily  arrived  at  ;  offensive 
operations  were  decided  upon;  and  no  sooner  had  Genera] 
li  that  McClellan  was  evacuating  his  posi- 
tion on  Janus  river,  than  he  hastened  to  put  his  troops  in  mo- 
tion to  attack  General  Pope  before'the  expected  reinforcements 
reached  him. 

The  main  army  moved  rapidly  to  Orange  Court  House,  and 
General  Lee  lost  no  time  in  commencing  operations.  He  de- 
cided, it  would  appear,  to  attack  General  Pope's  right  flank 
and  front  at  the  same  time,  and  the  movement  against  the 
i  nemys  right  was  entrusted  to  General  Jackson. 

A  portion    of  Jackson's   corps   accordingly   moved  from    its 

cam])  oear  Gordonsville,  and  bearing  well  to  the  left,  crossed 
the  Rapidan,  and  proceeded  in  the  correction  of  Madison 
Court  House,  From  that  point  the  force  could  descend  upon 
the  enemy's  right  flank  and  rear,  while  General  Lee  assailed 
him  in  front  ;  and  thus,  hemmed  in  between  the  llappalmii 
nock  and  the  Kapidan,  the  Federal  army  would  be  destroyed 
or  forced  to  surrender. 

This  design  was  frustrated  by  the  unexpected  movements 
of  the  enemy.     Gen    Pope  had  no  intention  of  again  attempt- 


LIFli  OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  161 

in-  a  trial  of  strength  with  Jackson,  who  had  already  handled 

him  so  roughly  at  Cedar  Run,  and,  doubtless,  the  presence  of 
General  Lee  in  his  front  did  not  diminish  his  inclination  to 
retire.  With  a  prudence  which  Unassorted  with  his  publicly 
expressed  determination  to  take  no  steps  toward  that  "rear" 
where  u  lurked  disaster  and  shame."  he  no  sooner  suspected 
the  projected  attack  than  he  fell  back  promptly  to  the  north 
bank  of  the  Rappahannock,  and  crowning  every  hill  with  hi.^ 
batteries,  prepared  to  dispute  its  passage.  This  movement 
produced  a  corresponding  change  in  the  plans  of  (Jcncral  Lee 
He  advanced  across  the  Rapidan,  and  the  whole  army  was 
united  in  the  neighborhood  01  Culpepper  Court  House. 

We  shall  insert  here  a  paragraph  or  two,  relating  to  the 
movements  of  the  Southern  troops,  written  by  u  Personne," 
the  excellent  correspondent  of  the  CJiarleston  Mercury,  and  in- 
teresting as  furnishing  those  familiar  details,  which  will  here- 
after be  read  with  so  much  iutcrest.  AVc  quote  the  following 
sentences  from  the  writer's  diary  : 

"  August  19,  near  Orang*  Qourt  House. — Orders  issued  from 
headquarters  for  the  army  to  move  forward  in  light  marching 
order.  At  daylight,  everything  in  motion  towards  the  Rapi- 
dan, which  is- ten  miles  distant.  The  enemy  in  front  and  on 
this  side  of  the  river.  Longstreet  at  tjic  head  of  his  column. 
The  Federals  back  rapidly  as  we  advance,  our  front  and  their 
rear  guard  having  one  or  two  slight  skirmishes.  Jackson  is 
moving  towards  the.  left,  probably  with  a  view  to  Hank  the 
enemy  in  ease  of  a  stand 

lc  August  20. — Army  crossed  the  Rapidan,  the  water  thigh 
deep.  Scene  exciting  and  amusing.  Nearly  whole  day  thus 
occupied. 

August  21. — The  enemy  in  close  proximity,  and  we  have 
io  move  cautiously.  Longstreet's  corps  is  in  front.  From  a 
hill  on  the  other  side  of  the  Rapidan  we  have  a  magnificent 
view  for  miles.  Three  columns — loug,  black  winding  lines 
of  men,  their  muskets  gleaming  in  the  sunshine  like  silver 
spears — are  in  sight,  moving  in  the  direction  of  Fredericks- 
burg, or  down  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river.  More  skirmish- 
ing in  front.     Cood  many  stragglers  by  the  wayside,  but  they 


]ii;j  life   01   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

are  generally  broken-down  soldiers  and  trudge  slowly  along  in 
the  tracks  of  their  comrades.     An  attractive  part  of  the  pro 

Loo  is  the  baggage  trains,  wending  their  way  iii  the  rear 

of  the  army.     Thousands  of  wagons  are  in  eight,  ami  between 

ailing  of  trains,  the  shouting  of  drivers,  and  the  chaotic 

confusion  which  emanates  From  the  motley  mass,  no  man  can 

complain  of  the  ennui  of  the  march. 

"Nothing  can  be  mere  picturesquely  beautiful  than  the 
bivouac  at  night.  Thousands  of  troops  line  the  woods  on  both 
aides  of  the  road  for  miles.  Camp  lire.- are  glimmering  iu  the 
trees,  muskets  are  stacked  along  tne  edge  of  the  forest,  and 
the  men  are  disposed  in  every  conceivable  manner.  Some  are 
rolled  np  in  their  blankets  and  already  dreaming  away  the 
Fatigues  of  the  tfay  j  some  are  sitting  around  the  camp  (ires 
watching  the  roasting  cars,  and  discussing  the  "  coming  ev<  ate 
which  cast  their  shadows  before,"  and  some  are  among  the 
.  moving  to  and  fro  in  the  gray  film  of  smoke  that  has 
q  from  the  myriad  fires  and  rests  upon  the  earth.  A\  e 
live  ''ii  what  we  can  get — now  and  then  an  ear  of  corn,  fried 
■_•]•<.  ii  apples,  or  a  bit  of  ham  broiled  on  a  stick,  but  quite  as 
frequently  do  without  cither  from  morning  until  night.      We 

p  on  the  ground  without  any  other  covering  than  a  blanket, 
and  consider  ourselves  fortunate  if  we  are  not  frozen  stiff  before 
morning.     The  nights  are  both  damp  and  cold. 

"August  22. — To-day  another  busy  scene.  The  army  re- 
sumed its  march  at  daylight.  Longstreet's  twelve  brigades 
moving  towards  the  Potomac  on  the  right  and  Jackson  on  the 
left.  The  latter  has  pasSed  the  Rapidan  Station  on  the  Vir- 
ginia Central  Railroad,  and  is  pressing  on  northeast  of  Cut- 
pepper.  Several  small  skirmishes  have  taken  place  on  the 
front,  and  eighty  or  ninety  prisoners  went  by  on  their  way  to 
the  rear.  Among  the  Yankees  captured  by  Jackson  were  two 
men,  who,  as  soon  as  "they  fell  into  our  hands,  commenced  to 

after  their  old  comrades  in  the  artillery  company.  An 
inqurry  being  instituted,  they  confessed  that  eight  months 
ago  they  were  soldiers  in  oUr  army,  but  that,  being  tired  of 
service,  had  deserted  and  joined  the  ranks  of  the  enemy. 
Without  further  ado,  the  General  ordered  them  to  be  hung  to 
a  tree,  which  was  done  in  the  presence  of  a  large  portiou  of 
his  army."' 

A  portion   of  this  extract   paints   with  great  accuracy  the 

/ 


L1EE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  163 

Commissariat)  of  the  Southern  army.  aA  bit  of  ham  broiled 
on  a  stick"  was  a  luxury  with  the  men,  and  (lie  time  was 
soon  to  come  when  it  would  be  unattainable  :  when  the  entire 
force  would  be  called  on  to  subsist  upon  green  corn  wasted  ou 
the  embers — sole  bill  of  tare  of  the  tired  and  hungry  soldier. 
General  Lee  had  thus  massed  his  army  between  the  llapidau 
and  Rappahannock  ;  his  designs  were  speedily  to  take  shape, 
and  become  "clothed  in  act." 

Jackson  bivouacked  opposite  Warren  ton  Springs,  on  the 
evening  of  August  22d,  and  immediately  threw  two  brig 
of  Gen.  Swell's  Division  across  the  river.  On  the  next  day 
afresh  in  the  river  destroyed  the  bridge,  and'as  Jackson  had 
determined  to  withdraw  the  force,  he  re-built  the  bridge^ 
which  they  then  re-passed,  after  a  brief  but  warm  civ 
ment  with  the  enemy. 

At  the  very  moment  when  Jackson    was    thus  feeling   the 
enemy  ou  the   Uappahontfock,  General  Stuart,  at  the  head  of 
his  cavalry,  had,  by  one  of  those  bold  dashes  which  charac- 
terized  him,  penetrated  to  their  rear,  and,  in  the   niidsj  <>l 
night  and  storm,  struck    them  at   Catlett's,  a  station  on  the 
Orange  and  Alexandria  railroad,  where  General  Pope  then 
was  in  person.     Pope  escaped;  buff  with  the  loss  of  bis  coat 
and  hat,  and  some  members  ot  his  sjtaff.     The  most  valuable 
pari  of  fin1  captured  property,  however,  was  a  box  of  official 
papers,  which  is  said  to  have  clearly  exhibited  the  strength  of 
in.    army;  his  anxious  desire  for  reinforcements;  his  expec- 
tation that  they  would  food  arrive;  and  the  small   hop 
had  of  success,  if,  meanwhile,  he  was  assailed  by  the  Com 
rates  in  force.     These  documents  were  laid  before  Geu.  !  ee  ; 
and  the  revelations  which  they  contained  of  the  enemy's    I 
signs,  probably  led  to  the   great  movement  which   speedily 
commenced. 

General  Lee  determined  to  send  an  expedition  against  the 
enemy's  rear,  in  order  to  cut  his  communications,  and  force 
him   to  fall  back  from  the  Rappahannock.     The  movement 


ItU  LIFE   "i     STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

would   necessarily  be  attended  with  great    peril;  would   de- 
mand oo  the  pari  of  the  officer  in  charge  of  it.  great  enej 

in Mit  and  decision;  audit  was  nceessarj  !••  entrust  th<> 
iition  of  tli.'  proj<  ct  t  .  <'ii"  of  ill  •  impotent  <  l< 

rale  of  the   Southern   army.     Tin-   a  lente  "!'  General 

Jackson  pointed  him  out  as  a  person   eminently  fitted  to  un- 
dertake this  greal   movement  ;  and  to  him  it  was  accordingly 
ncd. 
Jaokaon  lost  no  time  in  preparing  to  move  forward.      Delay 
word  not  found  in  the  vocabulary  of  the  leader  who  had 
swooped  from  the  heights  of  McDowell,  upon   Front    Royal 
and  Winchester;  pushed  on  to  the  Potomac;  passed  buck  by 
[breed"  marches,    between    the    converging    columns    of    the 
enemy;  defeated  them  at    Port    Republic;  and  as  suddenly 
fallen  upon  McClellan's  right  at  Richmond. 

On   Monday,  August   25th,  he  moved  his  command,  ooa- 

isting  of  Knell's,  A.  I'.  Hill's,  ami   Jackson's  old  Division, 

toTfjtfd  Jcffersonton,  producing  upon  the  enemy  the  iinpres- 

that  the  Southern  forces  wore  falling  back.     ]>ut  at  Jef 

•  uton  his    route  was  suddenly  changed.     Pacing  to  the 

right,  he  ascended  the  banks  of  the   Rappahannock,  passed 

through  the  small  village  of  Amosville,  and  crossed  the  river 

at  Hinson's  Ford,  dragging  his  artillery  with  difficulty  up  the 

narrow    and   rock  ribbed   road  beyond.     From  that   moment 

rapidity  of  movement  was  essential  to  success.     The  presence 

of  Jackson  in  thai  region  could  not  Inn--  be  concealed,  and  it 

vitally  important  that  the  Confederate  forces  should  push 

on  and  pas-  through  Thoroughfare  (^ap — their  proposed  line 

of  advance — b<  Pore  the  enemy  oould  occupy  that  strong  for- 

1 1 1   .  and  bar  their  passu 

The  famous  u  Foot  Cavalry"  were  now  called  upon  to  put 
forth  their  utniqst  strength.  A  long  and  exhausting  march 
was  before  them  ;  evi  ry  moment  was  precious;  Thoroughfare 
Gap  must  be  reached  before  the  enemy  arrived;  and  the  ordi- 
nary rules  of  marching  must  be  changed      As  though  reoog- 


LIFE    or    STONEWALL    JAOKSOXj  165 

nizing  the  truth  of  the  maxim,  that  wherever  two  men  can 
place  their  feet  an  army  cau  move.  Jackson  pushed  on  be- 
neath the  very  shadow  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  "across  open 
fields,  by  strange  couutry  roads,  and  comfortable  homesteads, 
by  a  little  town  in  Fauquier,  called  Orleans,  on  and  on,  as  if 
he  would  never  cease/'  declares  one  of  his  men.  The  troops 
were  scarcely  permitted  to  pause  for  an  instant ;  weary,  foot- 
sore, almost  without  food,  they  were  still  marched  steadily 
forward;  and  the  result  exhibited  the  sound  judgment  and 
foresight  of  their  leader.  Reaching  Salem,  on  the  Mans 
(Jap  railroad,  at  midnight,  they  were  put  in  motion  again  at 
dawn  of  day;  and,  passing  "  crowds,  all  welcoming,  cheering, 
staring  with  blank  amazement"  at  the  sight  of  Confederate 
troops  in  that  Yankee-ridden  land,  pressed  on  through  the 
Plains,  to  Thoroughfare  Gap. 

The  mountain  gorge  was  undefended — the  enemy  had  been 
completely  "headed  off" — and  passiug  rapidly  between  the 
frowning  ramparts,  Jackson,  with  his  little  army,  hungry  and 
exhausted,  but  resolute  as  ever,  descended  like  a  hawk  upon 
Manassas.  Gen.  Pope,  in  his  official  report,  declares  that 
he  knew  of  Jackson's  movement.  He  makes  this  statement 
te  relieve  himself'' from  the  charge  of  a  want  of  generalship, 
in  having  been  surprised;  but  his  declaration  has  rather  the 
opposite  effect.  The  truth  doubtless  is,  that  scouts  brought 
him  word  of  some  movement  of  the  enemy  in  that  direction  ; 
but  it  seems  plain,  from  all  the  testimony,  that  General  Pope 
considered  it  only  a  raid  by  a  small  body,  probably  of  cavalry. 
General  Stuart  was  between  him  and  Jackson  with  a  cordon 
of  pickets,  and  a  perfect  net-work  of  scouting  parties ;  and 
we  are  thus  justified  in  declaring  that  the  movement  was  a 
complete  surprise.  Had  General  Pope  suspected  for  an  in- 
stant that  the  rumored  force  advancing  to  turn  his  right 
flank,  aud  strike  his  rear,  was  the  army  of  Jackson,  led  by 
that  General  in  person,  his  operations  on  the  Rappahannock 
would  have  terminated  two  days  earlier  than  they  did ; 
*   '  8* 


1 1  ;i ;  LIFI   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

Thoroughfare  Gap  would  havc-foccu  defended;  and  the  ecav 
ditions  under  which  the  great  battles  at  Manassas  were  fought, 

would  have  been  changed. 

g  Gen.  Stuart  lead  pushed  iii  advance  with  his  cavalry, 
acted  t lie  Bull  Run  Mountain  by  a  winding  and  rocky 
roed,  fco  the  right  of  the  gap,  and  descending  the  eastern 
acclivity,  taken  his  pos(  Sgain  in  front  and  on  the  flanks  of 
the  army,  which  on  the  afternoon  of  Tuesday,  the  26fcb, 
reached  the  neighborhood  of  Manassas. 

This  march  will  always  remain  famous  in  history.  It  pee 
the  achievement  of  a  leader,  fertile  in  resource;  close  in  his 
calculations  of  time  and  material;  unerring  in  decision  and 
ution.  Tt  had  completely  surprised  the  enemy,  who, 
fancying  thai  the  main  attack  would  be  made  by  Lee,  upon 
the  Rappahannock,  had  paid  no  attention  to  the  threatening 
rumors  vi'  an  intended  assault  upon  their  rear,  attributing  it 
to  a  few  wandering  guerillas,  who  could  be  easily  repulsed  by 
the  garrison  at  Manassas;  and  persistently  kept  their  eyes 
upon  the  main  body  of  the  Confederates  in  their  front,  up  to 
the  moment  when  the  intelligence  reached  them  that  they 
were  completely  cut  off  from  Washington,  and  must  fight  upon 
terms  dictated  by  their  adversaries. 

The  illustrious  leader  had  thus  stolen  a  march  upon  his 
enemies,  and  won  new  laurels;  but  in  contemplating  the 
splendid  success  of  the  chief,  let  us  not  lose  sight  of  the 
credit  which  belongs  to  his  men.  The  troops  who  executed 
thai  great  movement  displayed  a  soldiership  and  devotion  to 
the  great  cause  of  the  South — an  endurance,  a  heroism,  a 
cheerfulness  under  privation  and  hardship,  which  would  do 
"honor  to  the  most  celebrated  nations  of  history.  In  two  days 
they  had  marched  nearly  fifty  miles,  almost  without  food  or 
rest,  to  attack.  Had  they  passed  over  the  ground,  pursued 
by  a  triumphant  enemy,  it  would  have  been  different;  but 
they  made  this  steady  and  rapid  advance  to  attain  a  positiou 
in  which  they  expected  to  be  immediately  assailed  by  over- 


LIFE    uF    STONEWALL    JACKSON.  107 

whelming  masses  of  the  enemy,  and  bear  the  brunt  of  Pope's 
huge  horde,  hurled,  in  mad  and  desperate  rage,  against  their 
weary  lines.  They  were,  many  of  them,  barefooted,  limping, 
"weary  unto  death,"  fainting  from  want  of  food  and  rest; 
but  they  did  not  lag  behind  on  that  account.  "  Close  up!'' 
was  the  word  all  along  the  line;  and  they  marched  on,  broken 
down  in  strength,  but  with  spirits  that  no  privations  or  fatigue 
could  overcome.  The  correspondent  of  the  "Mercury"  has 
described  their  food  ;  but  only  those  who  saw  the  Southern 
troops,  in  those  days,  can  realize  the  sufferings  which  they 
were  called  upon  to  undergo — and  did  undergo  with  the  cheer- 
fulness of  the  true  soldier,  lighting,  not  for  pay  or  ratigns, 
like  the  hired  mercenary,  but  for  a  cause  which  they  dearly 
loved,  and  were  willing  to  make  all  sacrifices  for,  without  a 
murmur.  The  phenomenon  was  then  and  there  presented  of 
an  army  living  for  days  upon  nothing  but  green  corn  and 
unripe  apples;  of  exhausting  marches,  incessant  combats, 
and  unresting  movements,  almost  without  foood  or  sleep. 
And,  as  we  have  said,  there  was  not  a  murmur  heard  in  all 
the  corps ;  the  flower  of  the  Southern  }'outh,  reared  in 
homes  of  affluence  and  luxury,  were  toiling  on  over  the  dusty 
ways,  or  lying,  weak  and  exhausted,  by  the  roadside,  or  fight- 
ing while  so  feeble  that  they  could  scarcely  handle  their 
mu-vkets — but  they  did  not  permit  one  word  of  complaint  to 
escape  them,  one  thought  of  despair  to  enter  their  hearts. 
Their  feet  were  on  their  native  Southern  soil,  the  foe  iu  front 
of  them ;  the  fixed  resolve  of  every  soul  in  Jackson's  army 
was  to  drive  that  insolent  enemy  from  our  borders,  or  perish. 

The  writer  of  these  pages  saw  the  men  of  the  South,  iu 
that  great  crisis  of  our  history;  and  his  pulse  still  throbs, 
as  he  recalls  the  grand  and  noble  spectacle  which  they  pre- 
sented. 

Jackson  approached  Manassas,  as  we  have  said,  on  Tues- 
day, the  26th  of  August.  At  Bristoe,  a  station  on  the  Orange 
and  Alexandria  railroad,  about  four  miles  from  the  Junction, 


168  LIFE   Of    STONBWALL   JACK!  OK. 

rt's  Cavalry  fired  into  a  train  of  cars,*  which,  however, 
byte  Manassas ;  and  the  infantry  I   in  stopping 

and  capturing  two  or  three  other  trains,  which  were  Bpeedily 
burned.  Jackson  waa  thus  completely  in  the  enemy's  dbm  ; 
held  possession  ef  the  railroad  which  supplied  their  army; 
and  the  firs!  act  of  the  great  drama  had  been  played.  When 
the  curtain  descended,  this  was  the  position  of  affairs.  1/  ■ 
was  in  Pope's  front 5  Jackson  in  his  rear;  the  Federal  rein- 
faroementa  from  Washington  and  Fredericksburg  had  not 
arrived  ;  iivn.  Pope  must  fight  on  ground  and  condition  i 
lected  by  his  enemy.  A  cool  and  determined  spirit  would 
not,  however,  have  regarded  the  situation  as  desperate.  Lee, 
with  his  main  body,  was  still  a  long  way  off;  Burnside  w.i. 
approaching  from  jjelow  ;  reinforcements  were  being  hurried 
forward  Irom  Alexandria;  and  Jackson  was  playing  a  game 
which  might,  with  good  hopes  of  success,  be  retorted  against 
himself.  Ifr  might  be  the  "cut  off"  party;  his  command 
attacked  before  Lee  could  arrive;  and,  indeed,  the  Northern 
journal-,  whioh  had  speedily  gained  intelligence  of  his  prc- 
;,i  Pope's  rear,  congratulated  their  readers  that  the 
laninii-  ('Stonewall,"  who  had  given  them  so  much  trouble, 
was  now  completely  flanked,  and  about  to  fall  into  the  clutches 
of  his  enemies. 

Proceeding  upon  this  view  of  the  subject,  Gen.  Pope  put 
his  columns  in  motion,  and  advanced  to  protect  his  communi- 
cations, and  attack  .Jackson  before  he  could  be  reinforced  by 
bee. 

Lei  us  follow  the  movements  of  the  personage  who  was 
thus  threatened.  The  firsi  thing  necessary  was  to  gain  pos- 
on  of  Manassas  ;  and  this  work  was  entrusted  to  General 
Stuart.  Jackson  Ben!  him  Trimble's  Brigade,  to  co-operate 
with  the  cavalry;  and  notified  Stuart  to  take  charge  of  the 
movement.  The  fort  <•  at  Manassas  did  not  make  a  very  stout 
rcsisiance.  (Ion.  Stuart  advanced  with  his  cavalry,  until 
challenged  by  the  enemy's  interior  sentinels,  and  fifed  on  with 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  169 

canister,  and  finding  the  groined  impracticable  for  cavalry,  by 
night,  sent  for  the  infantry.  When  it  arrived,  he  directed 
(Jen.  Trimble  to  rest  his  centre  on  the  railroad  and  advance, 
which  was  immediately  done  ;  and,  after  a  brief  contest,  the 
place  was  captured,  Colonel  Wickham,  with  a  portion  of  the 
cavalry,  cutting  off  the  enemy's  retreat. 

The  amount  of  stores  captured  at  Manassas  was  very  large. 
Five  or  six  pieces  of  artillery,  ten  locomotives,  two  railroad 
trains  of  enormous  size,  loaded  with  many  millions  worth  of 
quartermaster  and  eommis.-ary  stores;  50,000  pounds  of 
bacon,  1,000  barrels  of  beef,  20,000  barrels  of  pork,  several 
thousand  barrels  of  flour,  aud  a  large  quantity  of  forage.  In 
addition  to  these  public  stores,  were  fhe  contents  of  the 
sutler's  shops,  containing,  says  an  eye-witness,  "  an  amount 
aud  variety  of  property,  such  as  I  had  never  conceived  of." 
The  same  writer  says :  "  'Twas  a  curious  sight  to  see  our  ragged 
aud  famished  meu  helping  themselves  to  every  imaginable 
article  of  luxury  or  necessity,  whether  of  clothing,  food,  or 
what  not.  For  my  part  I  got  a  tooth  brush,  a  box  of  can- 
dles, a  quantity  of  lobster  salad,  a  barrel  of  coffee,  and  other 
things  which  I  forget.  The  scene  utterly  beggared  descrip- 
tion. Our  meu  had  .been  liviug  ou  roasted  corn  since  crossing 
the  Rappahannock,  and  we  had  brought  no  wagons,  so  we 
could  carry  little  away  of  the  riches  before  us.  But  the  men 
could  cat  one  meal  at  least.  So  they  were  marched  up,  and 
as  much  of  everything  eatable  served  out  as  they  could  carry. 
To  sec  a  starving  man  eating  lobster  salad  and  drinking  Rhine 
wine,  barefooted  and  in  tatters,  was  curious ;  the  whole  thing 
was  indescribable." 

This  vast  mass  of  public  and  private  stores,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  what  the  men  consumed  or  carried  away  with 
them,  a  bakery,  furnishing  daily  15,000  loaves  of  bread,  and 
all  the  public  buildings  of  the  place,  were,  on  the  evening  of 
Wednesday,  consigned   to  the  flames,  and  utterly  destroyed 


17"  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

When  tin-  army  evacuated  the  place,  on   that   night,  the  l;i s( 
building  was  in  flames,  and  the  ruin  wai  complete. 

Bnt  we  anticipate  events.      The  attack  upon    Manassas 
made  about  daylight  on  the  27th,  and  when  (Jen.  daek,-on 
arrived,   the  place   was   in   our  possession.      We   were   not    to 
hold   it  without   a   further  struggle,  however,  on   the  part  of 
the  enemy. 

Intelligence  of  the  danger  to  which  this  great  magazine  <>f 
stores  was  exposed,  having  reached  Washington,  a  brigade  of 
New  Jersey  troops,  under  (Jen.  Taylor,  was  promptly  ordered 
forward  by  railroad,  to  defend  it.  The  train  reaehed  the 
bridge  over  Bull  Kun  about  seven  in  the  morning;  the  troops 
were  disembarked  ;  and  the  entire  command  hurried  forward 
rapidly  as  possible  toward  Manassas.  Our  skirmishers, 
who  had  been  posted  along  the  crest  of  hills  overlooking 
Bull  Kun,  fell  back  before  the  enemy,  and  they  were  thus 
drawn  on  towards  the  fortifications,  where  the  infantry  and 
dismounted  cavalry  awaited  them  in  silence.  They  had  ad- 
vanced, in  linc-of-battle,  within  close  and  deadly  range,  when 
suddenly  the  artillery  in  the  breastworks  opened  their  irou 
mouths,  and  a  storm  of  shot  and  shell  greeted  them.  They 
fell  back  immediately  in  great  confusion,  behind  a  sheltering 
crest,  and  were  at  once  attacked  by  our  infantry,  who  drove 
them,  "like  scattered  partridges/' says  an  eye-witness,  com- 
pletely routed,  through  Blackburn's  ford,  to  the'opposite 
side  of  Bull  Run  Here  they  were  tired  into  by  the  guns 
of  the  Stuart  Horse  Artillery,  under  Major  Pelham,  who 
poured  round  after  round  of  canister  into  the  broken  and 
flying  ranks,  covering  the  ground  with  dead,  and  driving 
the  enemy  to  ignominious  flight.  General  Taylor  was  killed, 
his  son,  nephew,  and  at  least  one  half  of  his  officers  wounded, 
and  the  road  over  which  the  enemy  fled,  pursued  by  the 
merciless  Horse  Artillery  of  Pelham,  wis  marked  at  every 
step  by  their  dead. 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON.  171 

Later  in  the  day,  an  attack  was  made  by  General  Ewell 
upon  Bristoe,  a  station,  as  we  have  said,  about  four  miles 
from  the  Junction.  General  Hooker  commanded  the  Federal 
force — the  advance  guard  of  Pope's  army,  then  pressing  for- 
ward— and  outnumbered  Ewell  so  largely,  that  after  au  obsti- 
nate struggle,  the  latter,  in  accordance  with  previous  orders, 
fell  back  across  Muddy  Ran,  to  the  main  body  of  the  army 
at  Manassas.  This  incident  of  the  day,  which  in  no  degree 
affected  the  general  result,  was  claimed  by  the  enemy,  after 
the  fashion  peculiar  to  them,  as  a  great  Federal  success  ;  and 
in  view  of  the  events  which  soon  followed  on  the  plains  "f 
Manassas,  we  can  afford  to  concede  all  which  they  claim  in 
reference  to  this  affair  of  advance  guards.  Ewell  had  cer- 
tainly felt  them  very  roughly;  fell  back  coolly;  and  prepara- 
tions were  speedily  made  for  greater  events. 

During  the  entire  day  the  cavalry  were  engaged  in  ob- 
serving the  enemy,  reporting  his  movements,  and  capturing 
detached  parties  in  all  directions.  General  Fitz  Lee  was  sent 
on  au  expedition  toward  Fairfax  Court  House,  to  still  further 
damage -the  Federal  communications,  and,  if  possible,  cut  off 
the  retreat  of  Taylor's  Brigade;  and  the  entire  region  was 
scoured  by  efficient  officers  of  cavalry,  who  notified  General 
Jackson  of  every  movement. 

At  nightfall,  Manassas,  which  had  been  set  on  fire,  was 
evacuated ;  and  when  the  enemy  took  possession  on  the  fol- 
lowing morning,  Stuart's  few  remaining  cavalry  falling  back 
before  them,  they  fouud  only  smoking  ruins,  and  the  burnt 
and  blackened  remains  of  their  great  masses  of  stores. 

The  destruction  of  these  stores  was  of  vital,  inestimable 
importance  to  General  Jackson.  It  doubtless  seemed  hard  to 
his  hungry  soldiers,  that  after  a  march  of  fifty  miles,  almost 
without  food,  they  should  be  called  upon  to  destroy  the 
tempting  commissary  stores,  and  innumerable  luxuries  of  the 
sutlers'  shops,  almost  before  they  had  satisfied  the  cravings  of 
nature.     But  the  personal  comfort  of  the  army  was  at  that 


172  UF1  OF  STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

►moment  a  very  small  item  in  the  account.  The  i lest  1  -action 
of  these  stores  was  one  of  the  great  objects  of  the  expedition; 
Pope  depended  upon  them  ft*  the  subsistence  of  his  army; 
aud  the  success  or  failure  of  the  grand  operations  about  to 
commence  was  involved  in  depriving  the  enemy  of  theii 
benefit. 

General  Pope's  official  report  shows  how  thoroughly  he  was 
crippled  by  the  capture  of  Manassas.  He  rests  his  anology 
for  the  defeat  which  followed  solely  upon  the  want  of  rations 
for  liis  men  and  forage  for  his  horses.  Describing  his  starv- 
ing condition,  and  inveighing  against  General  McGlellan  for 
refusing  to  dispatch  trains  of  supplies  without  an  escort  of 
cavalry,  he  attributes  all  to  the  destruction  at  Maria 
There  were  some  grounds  for  his  statement.  Even  if  General 
Fits  Lee's  cavalry  had  permitted  a  convoy  to  pass,  it  could 
not  have  arrived  in  time ;  and  Geueral  Pope  declares  in  his 
report,  that  whether  defeating  Jackson,  or  defeated  by  him, 
it  was  a  simple  question  of  time  whether  he  should  fall  back 
behind  Bull  Run,  toward  his  supplies,  or  "starve."  He 
adds  that  the  battle  of  Saturday  was  fought  because  he  had 
no  option  in  the  matter,  and  could  not  delay  an  engagement. 
"  Starvation"  for  men  and  horses  stared  him  in  the  face,  and 
drove  him  to  renew  the  action. 

Such  were  the  excellent  results  immediately  achieved  by 
General  Jackson  tn  the  capture  of  the  enemy's  magazines  at 
Mauassas.  That  historic  place  had  thus  been  twice -destroyed 
by  the  Confederate  commanders — first  by  Johnston,  and  then 
by  Jackson, 

It  had  twice  been  occupied  by  the  enemy,  on  the  next 
day,  but  under  different  circumstances.  The  troops  which 
took  possession  when  Johnston  evacuated  and  destroyed  it 
in  March,  were  the  advance  guard  of  an  army  thoroughly 
provisioned,  and  in  high  spirits.  Those  who  entered  it  on 
the  28th  of  August  were  huugry,  aud  with  spirits  already 
darkened  by  the  shadow  of  Jackson. 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  I  to 

/ 

CB  \ITKi;  XXI] 

.1    \  C  K  SON     A  T     B  \  5 

J  icksoa  turned  his  back  on  (lie  burniog  bouses  "1  Mana     i 
:i  i  nightfall. 

His  position  was  now  perilous  in  (he  extreme.  The  main 
body  of  Lee's  army  was  in  motion,  and  marching  by  the  sain'- 
route  which  he  had  followed,  to  his  assistance;  but  Pope  was 
moving  to  attack  him,  and  the  head  of  the  Federal  column 
had  already  come  in  collision  with  General  Kwell.  Lee  had 
the  arc  of  the  circle  to  follow,  while  his  adversary  moved 
over  the  chord  'j  and  all  now  depended  upon  the  former's 
celerity,  and  Jackson's  strategy  in  meanwhile  keeping  the 
enemy  at  bay.  If  General  Pope  could  once  come  up  with, 
and  strike  Jackson  before  Lee  and  Loagstreet  arrived,  the 
contest  would-be  desperate,  as  the  Confederates  did  not  uum- 
ber  20,<)<)0  men;  and  i  »  ward  off  the  threatened  blow  until 
the  main  body  came  to  his  succor,  was  now  the  aim  of  Gen 
Jackson. 

The  movement  brought  into  play  all  his  great  resources  of 
energy,  nerve,  prudence,  and  generalship.  He  might  have 
retired  without  difficulty  before  the  enemy,  in  the  direction 
of  Aldie,  and  turning  the  JjuII*  Run  mountain  at  its  northern 
extremity,  formed  a  junction  with  Longstrect,  and  defied  the 
f<>e  ;  but  this  withdrawal  of  the  advance  force  was  no  part  of 
the  plan  of  General  Lee.  The  design  of  that  commander  was 
to  engage  the  enemy  with  his  whole  force  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Manassas,  while  they  were  laboring  under  the  embarrass 
meats  occasioned  by  the  destruction  of  their  stores  and  com- 
munications— while  the  men  aud  horses  were  hungry  and 
exhausted — aud  before  supplies  could  reach  them  from  Alex- 
andria.    The  retreat  toward  Aldie,  on  Jackson's  part,  would 


J  74  LIVE   01   STONEWALL  JA0K8OM. 

hive  lost  to  him  half  Ifhe  fruits  of  the  great  movement — 
thwarted  Gen.  Lee's  plans — and  reversed  the  whole  pro 
gramme  of  operations.  General  Jackson  accordingly  ban- 
i  bed  all  thought  of  such  a  retrograde  movement,  and  with 
that  stubborn  nerve  which  characterized  him,  determined  to 
rail  back  slowly  to  ;i  position  within  supporting  distance  of 
Longstreet,  contest  every  inch  of  tlie  ground,  and  only  re- 
tire  when  the  existence  of  his  army  made  i:  necessary. 

Accordingly,  just  after  sunset,  he  put  his  troops  in  motion, 
;md  begun  the  movement  which  was  to  effect  his  object.  His 
corps  was  divided,  and  took  different  routes.  J 1  ill's  division, 
with  a  detachment  of  cavalry,  set  out  on  the  road  to  Centrc- 
ville,  crossing  at  Blackburn's  Kurd,  and  thus  drawing  the 
attention  of  the  enemy  in  a  i'alse  direction.  Hill  did  not  pro 
eced  beyond  OentrevilleJ  however.  Having  reached  that 
poipt,  he  Paced  to  the  left,  took  the  Warrenton  road,  and  re- 
turned, re-crossing  Bull  Run  at  Stone  Bridge.  Near  thi 
point,  he  re-joined  Jackson,  who  had  fallen  back,  with  Bw- 
elKs  division,  his  own  and  the  re  t  of  the  cavalry,  aud  taken 
Dp  a  position  on  the  battle-Held  of  Manassas;  his  left  resting 
near  Sudley  Ford;  his  right  at  a  point  a  little  above  the  small 
village  of  Grovcton.  The  crest  which  he  occupied  was  part 
protected  in  front  by  a  railroad  cut — that  of  a  projected  road 
branching  from  the  main  Manassas  railroad  near  Gainesville, 
.oid  running  toward  Alexandria.  Here  he  was  in  a  position 
to  repulse  tin-  enemy  unless  they  advanced  in  overpowerin 
1  rcej  to  forma  junction  with  Longstreel  as  soon  as  he  ar- 
rived,  and,  if  hard  pressed,  retire  up  the  right  bank  of  Bull 
Run  toward  Aldie. 

Deceived  by  'he  movements  of  A.  P.  Hill  toward  Centre- 
viile,  a  force  of  the  enemy  had  followed  him  in  that  direction, 
and  pursued  hotly  until  his  rear-guard  passed  .Stone  Bridge. 
This  was  in  the  afternoon*.  But  meanwhile  the  cavalry  force 
of  the  two  armies  had  not  been  idle.  General  Stuart  disposed 
his  cavalry  so  as  to  cover  Jackson's  front  in  the  direction  of 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  175 

Warren  ton  and  Manassas;  and  having  intercepted  a  dispatch 
from  the  enemy,  directing  cavalry  to  report  to  General  Bayard 
fit  II  ay  market,  near  Thoroughfare,  Stuart  proceeded  in  that 
direction,  with  his  two  fragments  of  brigades,  to  attack  it,  and 
establish  communication  with  Longstrect,  whose  arrival  was 
looked  for  witli  intense  anxiety.  On  the  way,  Stuart  cap- 
tared  a  party  of  the  enemy,  aud,  having  sent  his  dispatch 
through  by  a  trusty  messenger,  engaged  the  enemy's  cavalry, 
while  Longstreet  was  fighting  at' Thoroughfare  Gap.  The 
skirmish  Avas  still  going  on  when  the  sound  of  artillery  from 
Stone  Bridge  indicated  a  battle  there,  and  quietly  withdraw- 
ing from  the  action,  General  Stuart  hastened  to  place  his 
command  upon  Jackson's  right  flank. 

As  the  cavalry  approached,  the  dust  which  they  raised 
induced  the  apprehension  on  General  Stuart's  part  that  In 
command^  coming  as  it  did  from  the  direction  of  the  enemy, 
would  be  taken  for  a  part  of  the  Federal  force.  A  staff  offi- 
■  vr  was  accordingly  dispatched  with  the  intelligence  of  his 
approach,  and  Jackson  promptly  informed  that  the  supposed 
enemies  were  friends.  He  was  reconnoitreing  at  the  moment 
with  General  Fwcll  and  others  in  front  of  his  troops,  drawn 
up  in  line-of-battle,  and  no  sooner  knew  that  his  Hank  W9S 
not  threatened  than,  pointing  to  the  enemy  in  his  front,  he 
said,  briefly,  "  Ewell,  advance!"  . 

Fwell  immediately  threw  forward  his  own  division  and 
Jackson's,  and  attacked  the  enemy,  who  were  seen  advancing 
along  the  Warrentou  turnpike,  with  the  apparent  intention  of 
crossing  Bull  Run  at  Sudley  Ford  and  Stone  Bridge.  A 
tierce  engagement,  in  the  last  two  hours  of  daylight,  followed ; 
the  enemy  fiually  gave  way,  and  at  nightfall  were  entirely  re- 
pulsed. General  Ewell  had  been  badly  wounded  in  the  knee, 
and  his  valuable  services  were  lost  in  the  subsequent  battles, 
but  the  enemy  had  suffered  heavy  loss  and  yielded  the  field — 
the  opposing  armies 'remaining  iu  front  of  each  other  in  line- 
of-battle,  waiting  for  daylight. 


I7<i  LIFE    of    STONEWALL   JACKSON 

The  mild  hours  of  tbc  August  evening  which  witnessed 
ibis  contest  on  tbc  historic  plains  of  Manassas,  were. marked 
also  by  a  sharp  engagement  between  Longstreet  and  the 
enemy  in  the  gorge  of  Thoroughfare  Gap.     This  wild  and 

romantic  pass  in  the  mountains,  with  it>  frowning)  hr-clad 
)>aKlr:iiciits  ..n  either  Bide—- its  narrow  ami  winding  road,  and 
its  rugged  walls  rising  rock  above  rock  to  the  summit,  right 
and  left — was  defended  by  a  considerable  force  of  the  enemy, 
with  powerful  batteries  judiciously  posted  to  take  the  eastern 
debouchment  with  shell  and  canister.  General  Lee,  who  had 
pressed  forward  over  the  same  road,  followed  by  Jackson,  and 
reached  the  lofty  hill  upon  the  western  opening  of  the  pass 
late  in  the  afternoon,  determined  not  to  delay  the  attack.  A 
brigade  was  accordingly  sent  forward,  and  bravely  rushed  into 
the  gap  in  face  of  a  hot  fire  of  musketry  and  a  storm  of  shell 
from  (1m-  enemy's  artillery  beyond.  The  conflict  was  kept  up 
with  great  spirit  for  some  time;  but  Lee  having  sent  a  force 
by  Ilop.well  Gap,  a  little  north  of  Thoroughfare,  to  take  (!"• 
enemy  in  flanfi  and  rear,  they  hastily  withdrew  their  bad' 
and  left  the  way  open  to  Longstreet,  who  passed  through 
about  nine  o'clock  at  night. 

When  a  courier  brought  to  Jackson  the  intelligence  that 
Longstreet  had  passed  Thoroughfare,  and  was  rapidly  press- 
ing forward  to  join  him,  he.  drew  a  long  breath  and  uttered  a 
igh  of  relief.  The  long  agony  was  over — the  great  move- 
ment which  would  rem  lin  among  his  proudest  glories  had 
(.  ;  urinated  in  complete 

Loni    ii<' i -p. n.   Lee  himself— was  near,  and  all  wa 


.  LTFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  1,, 

OHAPTBR  XXIII. 

MANASSAS :    AUGUST    21),    1863. 

On  the  morning  of  Friday,  August  29th,  Jackson's  i 
was  drawn  up  to  receive  the  anticipated  assault  of  the  enemy, 
posted  directly  in  his  front.     His  position   was  a  strong  one 

His  left  rested  near  Sudley  Ford,  and  In,;  right  a  lit  tic  above 
the  small  village  of  Groveton^  on 'the  Warrenton  turnpike — a 
portion  of  t lie  line  being  protected  b)  the  deep  cut  for  the 
projected  railroad,  already  mentioned.  Thus  posted,  General 
Jackson  was  in  a  condition  to  repel  any  assault  of  the  enemy, 
unless  it  was  made  in  overpowering  force  ;  and  confident  oi 
his  ability  to  held  his  ground  until  reinforcements  arrived,  he 
presented  a  dauntless  front,  ready  to  accept  battle  at  an) 
moment. 

The  fatal  error  of  Genera]  1'ope  was  his  delay  in  making 
this  attack.  Confusion  seems  to  have  reigucd  in  the  Federal 
counsels,  and  the  plainest  dictates  of  common  sense,  much 
more  of  military  science,  were  utterly  disregarded.  It  v.  a? 
known  that  Lee  was  advancing  with  Longstreet's  corps — that 
great  reserve  whose  blows  were  so  heavy,  and  told  for  so 
much  in  every  contest.  The  route  of  this  corps  was  also 
well  known  ;  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  they  would  advance 
through  Thoroughfare  Gap )  and  yet  Thoroughfare  Gap,  the 
key  of  the  whole  position,  the  Thermopyhe  pass  which 
ten  men  could  have  held  against  a  thousaud,  was  inade 
quately  guarded,  and  suffered  to  be  cleared.  The  veriest 
tyro  in  arms  would  have  understood  that  all  depended 
upon  hurling  the  entire  Federal  column  upon  Jackson 
before  Longstreet  arrived  j  but  General  Pope  either  did  not 
se^  the  importance  of  doing  so,  or  was  unable  to  accomplish 
it..     In  his  defence,  he  presents  an  elaborate  array  of  charges 


178  LIFE    OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  *! 

against  General  Porter,  aud  other  officers,  For  delay,  ineffi- 
ciency, and  actual  treason,  in  not  coming  np  in  time  ;  but  the 
rejoinders  of  these  officers  are  fatal  in  the  extreme  to  (leueral 
Pope's  character  for  generalship,  and  the.  feet  remains  clearly 
proved  that  he  was  out-generaled,  as  he  was  out-fought  by 
General  Jackson. 

The  hour  for  the   execution    of  the   movement  referred   to 
above  had  now'passed.      The  golden  moment    upon  which  the 
hinges  of  destiny  turned  had  slipped  away.      That  most  tern 
hie  of  phrases,  "  too  late,"  applied  in  till  its  force  to  the  move- 
ments of  the  Federal  army. 

A  cloud  of  dust  from  the  direction  of  Thoroughfare  (Jap, 
on  that  eventful  morning,  told  the  tale  of  despair  to  General 
Pope,  of  succor  aud  good  hope  to  Gen.  Jackson.  The  great 
corps  which  had  turned  the  tide  of  victory  upon  so  many 
hard-fought  fields  was  steadily  pressing  onward,  and  the  ad- 
vance was  now  on  the  AVarrenton  turnpike,  beyond  (jaines- 
ville,  not  far  from  Jackson's  right. 

All  the  morning  Gen.  Longstreet  was  coming  into  position 
The  far-seeing  eyes  of  the  great  soldier  who  commanded  the. 
Southern  army  had  embraced  at  a  glance  the  whole  situation 
of  things,  and  his  plans  were  formed  with  consummate  skill. 
The  design  was  to  envelop  the  enemy,  as  it  were,  and  occupy 
a  position  from  which  he  could  be  struck  in  front,  flank  aud 
rear  at  the  same  moment,  if  he  made  a  single  error;  and  (his 
design  dictated  an  order  of  battle  not  dissimilar  from  thai 
which  was  crowned  with  such  success  on  the  banks  of  the 
Chickahominy. 

Jackson  fronted,  as  we  have  said,  directly  toward  the  War- 
reuton  road,  his  right  resting  oear  (jirovetou.  When  Long- 
street  arrived,  his  troops  were  steadily  advanced  in  a  line 
crossing  the  Warrenton  road,  his  left  resting  upon  a  range  not 
far  from  Jackson's  right — the  two  lines  forming  an  obtuse 
angle,  and  resembling  somewhat  an  open  V.  The  village  of 
Uroveton  was  in  the  angle  thus  formed,  about  a  mile  distant  ; 


LIFE   OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON  17^ 

and  the  fields  in  its  vicinity  were  completely  commanded  by 
heavy  batteries.  These  were  placed  upon  a  ridge  at  the  angle 
mentioned,  where  Lougstreet's  left  and  Jackson's  right  ap- 
proached each  other,  and  were  commanded  by  that  accom- 
plished soldier  and  admirable  artillerist,  Colonel  (now  Briga- 
dier-General,) Stephen  D.  Lee,  of  South  Carolina. 

The  advantage  of  this  order  of  battle  is  apparent  at  a 
glance.  If  the  cnCmy  advanced,  as  it  was  probable  they 
would  do,  upon  Gen.  Jacksou,  to  crush  him  before  Longstreet 
was  in  fighting  trim  to  assist  him,  they  would  expose  their 
left  flank  to  the  latter,  and  be  placed  iu  a  most  perilous  posi- 
tion. If  they  succeeded  in  driving  Geu.  Jackson  back,  and 
followed  up  their  success  by  a  general  advance  all  along  Che 
line,  that  success  would  only  expose  them  still  more  to  the 
heavy  arm  of  Longstreet  ready  to  fall  upon  their  unprotected 
flank.  Their  very  victory  would  be  the  signal  of  their  ruin. 
Triumph  vsgfcild  ensure  destruction.  The  rapidly  closing  sides 
of  the  great  V  would  strike  them  in  flank  and  rear,  huddle 
them  together  in  a  disorderly  mob,  and  end  by  crushing  them 
with  its  inexorable  vice-like  pressure. 

Their  only  hope  in  advancing  upon  Jackson  was  to  pen.' 
trate  between  him  and  Longstreet,  thereby  dividing  the  line 
of-battle.  But  Stephen  Lee  was  there,  with  his  batten.' 
crowning  the  crest,  and  the  design  was  hopeless. 

Such  was  Gen  Lee's  order  of  battle.  The  enemy  were  as 
yet  unaware  of  it.  They  adhered  to  their  design  of  over- 
whelming Jackson  before  succor  reached  him  ;  and  duriug  the 
whole  forenoon  were  moving  their  troops  to  the  left,  and 
massing  them  in  his  front.  Skirmishing  and  cannonading, 
rather  desultory  in  their  character,  and  not  important,  went 
on  during  this  movement  of  the  enemy;  but  it  was  not  until 
three  or  four  o'clock  that  the  battle  commenced  in  earnest 

At  that  time  the  enemy  rapidly  advanced  with  a  force,  con- 
sisting, it  is  said,  of  Bank's,  Siegel's  and  Pope's  divisions,  and 
supported  by  a  heavy  fire  of  artillery,  threw  themselves  with 


ISO  LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON. 

great  fury  upon  Jackson's  right.  Their  design  was  to  divide 
(.in  line,  and  the  assault  was  made  with  great  spirit.  Rwell's 
division,  however,  concealed  behind  the  embankment  of  the 
railroad  received  them  with  a  fire  so  galling  that  they  were 
repulsed  with  heavy  loss.  Tl  c  b«>M  stroke  to  cut  our  fine 
thus  failed  aj  its  very  inception  j  and  the  Federal  forces  did 
not  seem  td  relish  the  idea  of  immediately  renewing  the  attack. 
\-  they  fell  back  in  disorder  before  the  ho*  fire  of  the  South- 
ern infantry,  they  were  Bala  ted  by  a  shower  of  shot  and  shell 
from  the  batteries  posted  on  the  high  ground  in  our  rear  ; 
and  so  accurate  and  effective  was  this  fire  that^carcely  a  shut 
failed  to  strike  Borne  portion  of  the  surging,  panic-stricken  mass 
of  Federals.  They  fell  by  hundreds,  and  the  line  which  had 
advanced  in  all  the  pomp  and  splendor  of*  martial  strength, 
scattered  and  slunk  away,  completely  routed  and  disheartened, 
to  the  shelter  of  the  woods.  The  mortality  was  so  greal  that 
of  one  of  the  enemy's  regiments  only  three  men,  it  is  said, 
remained  unhurt.  * 

A  pause  in  the  conflict  was  speedily  followed  by  another 
attack — this  time  very  generally  directed  all  along  the  liite. 
The  enemy  brought  up  their  host  troops;  spared  no  exertion:  ; 
and  fought  with  a  fury  which  indicated  the  importance  fchej 
attached  to  some  measure  at  least  of  success  in  that  portion  of 
t  he  field.  Their  batteries  hurled  a  storm  of  iron  missiles  upon 
our  lines  ;  ami  protected  by  this  heavy  fire,  their  infantrj  ad 
vanced  at  a  double-quick,  bent  apparently  upon  breaking 
through  the  bristling  hedge  of  bayonets  or  leaving  their  dea  ! 
bodies  tjn  the  field.  The  conflict  continued  hour  after  hour, 
and  wa-  really  terrific,  Jackson's  brave  troops  never  wavered 
however;  and  the  great  leader  was  everywhere  among  his 
men,  cheering  them  on,  ami  holding  them  steady  amid  the 
hottest  lire  of  infantry  and  artillery.  They  thus  continued  to 
hold  their  own  obstinately  without  a  thought  of  yielding — but 
the  strength  which  had  borne  them  through  such  exhausting 
marches  and  hard  conflicts  within  the  preceding  (bur  <»•  five 


LIFL   OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  1&1 

days  began  to  flag.  Otlier  causes  conspired  to  render  assist- 
ance necessary.  Heavy  reinforcements  were  being  rapidly 
pushed  forward  by  the  enemy,  and  our  troops  had  shot  away 
all  their  cartridges.  "We  got  out  of  ammunition,''  writes  a 
young  solaier  of  A.  P.  Hill's  division  to  his  mother,  we  "coL 
lected  more  from  cartridge  boxes  of  fallen  friend  and  foe. 
That  gave  out  and  we  charged  with  never- failing  yell  and  steel. 
AH  day  long  they  threw  their  masses  on  us;  all  day  they" 
fell  back  shattered  and  shrieking.  When  ihesun  went  down, 
their  dead  were  heaped  in  front  of  that  incomplete  railway, 
and  we  sighed  with  relief,  for  Longstreet  could  be  seen  coming 
into  position  on  (»nr  right.  The  crisis  was  over;  Longstreet 
never  failed  yet ;  but  the  sun  went  down  so  slowly."  Without 
ammunition,  the  men  of  Jackson  seized  whatever  they  could 
lay  their  hands  on  to  use  against  the  enemy.  The  piles  of 
stones  in  the  vicinity  of  the  railroad  cut  were  used — and  it  is 
well  established  that  many  of  the  enemy  were  killed  by  having 
(heir  skulls  broken  with  fragments  of  rock. 

The  conflict  went  on  in  this  way  all  the  afternoon,  and  was 
exceedingly  obstinate.  The  enemy  had  not  succeeded  in 
driving  Gen.  Jackson  from  his  position  •  but  his  brave  mm 
were  beginning  to  grow  weary  in  the  unequal  struggle  with  a 
foe  who  threw  against  them  incessantly  heavy  reinforcements 
of  fresh  and  trained  troops,  constantly  arriving  from  the  rear 
and  hurried  to  the  front,  to  take  the  place  of  tho^c  who  had 
been  repulsed. 

Gen.  Lee  saw  that  the  moment  had  arrived  for  a  demon- 
stration on  the  enemy's  left,  aud  this  was  made  about  night- 
fall, when  Jackson's  right  began  to  yield  ground  slowly  and 
sullenly  before  the  masses  brought  to  bear  upon  it.  Hood's 
Division  was  ordered  forward,  and  no  sooner  had  these  splen- 
did troops  thrown  themselves  with  ardor  into  the  contest,  than 
the  whole  appearance  of  the  field  suddenly  changed.  /Tp  to 
that  moment  the  conflict  had  been  obstinate,  but  the  firing 
Pi 


182  LIFE,  OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

upoi  both  sides  had  perceptibly  decreased  in  intensity — the 
rals.  like  their  opponents,  appearing  fatigued  by  the 
it  conflict.  The  enemy,  as  we  have  said,  had  gained 
ground  upon  Jackson's  right,  and  were  pushing  forward  their 
karpstrooiera  in  advance  of  their  main  line,  farther  and  t'ar- 
ther,ag  our  men  sullenly  retired  inch  by  inch.  It  wasjtfst  at 
thfe  dispiriting  moment  thai  Hoodjp  Division  advanced'-;  and 
The  sjuiek  tongues  of  fldme  leaped  from  the  muzzles  of  his 
muskets,  Kghting  up  the  gathering;  gloom  with  their  crimson 
light.  These  'fires  of  death'  were  followed  by  the  sharp 
crack  of  the  nuns,  from  end  to  end  of  the  great  field  between 
the  opposing  lines — and  then  dusky  figures  were  seen  advan- 
cing rapidly  from  the  Confederate  side.  The  next  jets  ot 
Maine  spurted  into  the  darkness  were  near  the  edge  of  the 
w.od  where  the  enemy  were  drawn  up;  then  with  one  long 
roar  of  musketry,  and  a  maze  of  quick  flashes  everywhere, 
Hood's  men  charged  forward  with  wild  cfoeers,-driving  the 
enemy  before  them  into  the  depths  of  the  forest. 

The  impetuous  charge  had  instantly  changed  the  fortunes 
of  the  day.  Jackson's  brave  men  wrcre  inspired,  with  new 
ardor,  and  pressed  forward  with  cheers,  all  along  the  line. 
The  enemy  were  unable  to  withstand  the  shock ;  and  when 
the  deep  darkness  of  night,  lit  up  now,  only  by  a  few  flashes 
of  artillery,  put  an  end  to  the  conflict,  the  Federal  lines  had 
been  forced  back  more  than  half  a  mile  from  the  position 
which  they  had  held  before  Hood  charged. 

By  order  of  Gen.  Lee  the  troops,  however,  fell  back  to 
their  former  strong  position,  for  the  real  struggle  on  the  next 
day,  and  bivouacked  for  the  night — a  circumstance  which 
possibly  induced  Gen.  Pope  to  telegraph  that,  although  he 
had  sustained  a  loss  of  8,000  men,  he  had  driven  back  the 
entire  Southern  army. 

What  remained  after  the  long  and  obstinate  conflict — above 
the  smoke,  the  dust,  the  blood— was  this  :  Jackson  had  held 


LIFE   OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  1SH 

• 

his  ground  against  the  vast  njasses  thrown  upon  his  lines — 
bad  sustained  the  shock  everywhere  without  flinching — and 
night  and  Lorigstreet  had  come. 

He  had  foiled  the  enemy-  at  every  turn  ;  had  obstinately 
held  his  ground  against  every  attempt  to  dislodge  him;  had 
fought  with  that  dogged  determination  which  compels  the 
eagles  of  victory  to  perch  upon  the  standards  of  the  leaflei 
who  possesses  it  ;  had  triumphed  over  his  toes,  and  was  safe 

Long;- 1 reel  was  there  upon  his  right,  with  his  strong  and 
veteran  corps  ;  Lee  was  b>y  his  side  to  take  from  his  shoulder: 
a  portion  of  that  burden  of  careNand  anxiety  which  would 
have  crushed  most  men,  and  oppressed  even  the  iron  sflrength 
of  Jackson  ;  the  euemy  were  repulsed ;  their  men  and  horses 
were,  by  his  exertions,  cut  oft"  from  all  supplies;  victory,  on 
the  morrow,  was,  humanly  speaking,  a  certainty. 

The  stern  soul  of  Jackson,  the  soldier,  must  have  rejoiced 
within  him,  when  night  came,  and  all  was  well.  Bui  the 
childlike  heart  of  Jackson,  the  humble  Christian,  was  full  of 
|,ii\  for  hifl  brave  followers,  and  of  prayer. to  the  God  in  whom 
he  trusted,  for  their  welfare,  and  his  country'*  sneee 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

MANASSAS  :    AUG1  ST    30,     1862. 

nirday,  the  greai  day  which  was  to  terminate  the  long 
conflict,  dawued,  clear  and  beautiful. 

With  the  first  dawn  of  day,  the  Southern  troops  were  under 
arms,  and  prepared  for  the  contest  which  was  to  ensue.  All 
of  our  force  had  now  arrived,  with  the  exception  of  Gen.  R. 
H.  Anderson's  Division  of  Longstreet's  Corps,  which  was 
only  a  few  miles  from  the  field  ;  and  line-of-battle  was  formed 
immediately. 

The   order  of  battle  remained   unchanged.     Jackson     lilt 


L$|  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

occupied  his  former  position,  with  his* left  near  Sudley,  hi- 
right  above  Groveton;  and  Longstreet's  line,  as  betore, 
Btvetehed  away  obliquely,  the  interval  between  the  two  Ming 
cted  l'\  the  eight  batteries  of  Col.  Lee.  Geni  Stuart's 
Cavalry  Mas  posted  on  the  right  and  left  wings,  ami  batteries 
were  bo  disposed  as  to  3erve  as  supports  to  the  advancing 
columns,  or  repulse  the  onset  of  the  enemy. 

The  Federal  army  adapted  its  line,  in  some  incisure,  to  our 
own.  It  eurved  backward  from  the  I'cntre,  following  the 
conformation  of  our  two  wings,  and  is  said  to  have  embraced 
({en.  Heintzelman  on  the  right;  Gen.  McDowell  on  the  left  : 
and  Porter,  Seigel  and  Reno  in  the  centre.  Their  batteries 
were  disposed  in  a  manner  similar  to  our  own,  and  their 
cavalry  held  well  in  hand  to  take  an  active  part  iu  the 
battle. 

It  was  in  this  attitude  that  the  two  armies  remained  in  bee 
of  each  other  for  many  hours — neither  advancing  to  the 
attack.  Gen.  Lee's  policy  was  plainly  to  await  the  assault  in 
hi-  strong  position  behind  the.  railroad,  and  on  the  high 
ground  of  the  Groveton  heights — thus  forcing  the  enemy 
either  to  attack  him,  or  retire  across  Bull  Run,  for  supplies, 
pursued  by  the  Southern  troops.  Gen.  Lee  could  hold  his 
position  indefinitely,  having  uninterrupted  communication 
with  his. rear;  but  the  Federal  general  was  forced  to  fight  or 
retreat — and  the  obvious  policy  was  to  await  his  advance. 

The  strength  of  our  position  was  evidently  appreciated, 
and  persistant  attempts  were  made  ta  draw  the  Southern 
troops  from  it.  About  one  o  clock  a  feinl  was  made  upon  our 
right,  and  a  brisk  encounter  took  place  between  the  advance 
forces  ;  but  tire  enemj  were  speedily  driven  back  with  artil- 
lery, and  our  troops  retained  their  position.  Heavy  masses 
then  moved  in  the  direction  of  our  left,  and  Gen.  Jackson 
prepared  for  an  instant  renewal  of  the  fierce  conflict  of  the 
preceding  day.  Several  demonstrations  were  made,  but  the 
failure  here  was  .1-  marked  as  it  had  been  on  the  right*— and 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON.  185 

the  Federal  forces  withdrew,  apparently  designing  to  fall  back, 
in  the  direction  of  Manassas. 

These  movements,  during  the  whole  foreuoon,  *nd  up  to 
four  in  the  evening,  were  vigilantly  watched  by  our  generals. 
The  great  drama  evidently  absorbed  all  their  attention,  and, 
though  outwardly  calm,  the  latent  tire  of  the  eye  showed  that 
the  design  of  the  enemy  was  fully  understood,  and"  everything 
ready  for  the  earnest  work  which  would  speedily  succeed  all 
this  manoeuvring,  these  elaborate  ruses  and  feints.  The  enemy 
had  completely  failed  in  achieving  their  object — they  had  at- 
tempted in  vain  to  deceive  the  wary  eyes  of  Lee,  and  Jackson 
and  Longstreet — and  they  now  prepared  to  abandon  their 
useless  movements,  and  trust  the  event  of  the  day  to  superior 
numbers  and  stubborn  fighting. 

The  Southern  troops  had  witnessed  the  complicated  evolu- 
tions of  the  enemy  across  the  wide  fields  and  through  the 
forest,  with  little  anxiety.  The  conflict  of  the  preceding  day 
had  given  them  confidence,  and  the  men  lav  down  in  line-of- 
battle,  laughing  and  jesting.  Virginians,  Georgians,  Ala- 
bamians,  Mississippians,  Texaus,  Floridians,  Carolinians — all 
awaited  the  developcmeut  of  the  enemy's  desigus  with  entire 
calmness,  and  a  species  of  indifference  which  was  very  striking. 
They  were  in  this  careless  mood — some  talking,  others  jesting, 
others  again  sleeping  beneath  the  warm  Atigiist  sky.  when 
suddenly  the  roar  of  thirty  pieces  of  artillery  shook  the 
ground,  and  filled  the  air  with  their  tremendous1  reverbera- 
tions. Every  man  started  to  his  feet — and  the  cause  of  the 
heavy  caunouade  was  plain. 

The  cuemy,  entirely  foiled  in  their  attempt  to  draw  u.s  from 
the  heights,  had  suddenly  advanced  at  a  double  quick,  as  be- 
fore, agaiust  our  centre,  where  Jackson's  right  and  Long- 
street's  left  came  together.  The  attack  was  made  upon 
Jackson's  line  first,  by  a  dense  column  of  infantry,  which  had 
been  massed  in  a  strip. of  woods,  in  close  vicinity  to  Grove- 
tou.     Three  heavy  lines  had  been  formed  for  the  charge,  and 


I  -i;  i.i  l - n    01    STONEWALL   JACK. SOW 

•  • 

:i .  the  in  I  of  these  lines  emerged  at  a  double  quick  from  khe 
woods,  thej  were  greeted  with   the  murderous  tire  aboyi 
cribed.     OoL  Lee  had  opened  upon   thcin  with  all   hi.-  war 
dogs  at  once,  and    -lie  writer  of  these   lines  lias  never,  during 
hi-  whole   experience,  witnessed   such   handling  of  artillery. 
The   fiery  storm  was  directed  with  astonishing  accuracy,  and 
the  brigadei  which  Led  the  charge  were  almost  annihilated  by 
(he  shot  aud  shell  which  burst   before,  behind,  above,  to  the 
.  to  the  left — raking  and  tearing. them  to  pieces.     They 
jwept    away  before  this  horrible  tire,  like  leaves  in  the 
wind,  and   disappeared,   broken   and   flying   in    the    woi 
to  be  immediately  succeeded,  however,  by  another   brigade 
charging  as  before.     Again  the  iron  storm  crashed    through 
the  tanks;  and  again   they  broke  and   ran.      A  third    ! 
heavier  than  before,  now  advanced  with  mad  rapidity,  and  in 
ll:e  midst  of  fnc  awful  lire  of  our  batteries,  threw  then. 
upon  Jackson,  and  engaged  him  with  desperation.      I>\  <  rve 
followed  ;   and   the  fight   became    furious — Jacksofl's    troops 
mowing   down   their  opponents,  but  suffering  heavily  them- 

We    shall  continue  our    description  now    in    She    graphic 
words  of  "  Personne/'  the  writer  formerly  quoted  from,  who 

i  speaking  of  the  three  lines,  pushed  against  our  trooj 
die  Federals,  says  : 

"  ^lack-son's  infantry  raked  these  tlrree  dolnmns  tewibJy 
atedly  did  they  break  and  run,  and  rally  again  under  the 
oner-'  ti<-  appeals  of  their  officers,  for  it  was  a  crack  cqrps  oi' 
the  b'edejal  army— that  of  Generals  Sykcs and  MorreU;  but 
it  was  not  in  human  nature  to  stand  unflinchingly  before  that 
hurricane  «f  fire.  As  the  fight  progressed  Lee  moved  his 
batteries  to  the  left,  until  reaching  a  position  only  four  hun- 
dred yards  distant  from  the  enemy's  lines,  he  opened  again. 
The  spectacle  was  now  magnificent  As  shell  after  shell  burst 
in  the  wavering  ranks,  and  round  shot  ploughed  broad  gaps 
among  them,  you  could  distinctly  see  through  the  rifts  of 
smoke  the  Federal   soldiers  falling  and   Hying  on  every  side. 


LIFE    Of    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  1*7 

With  the  explosion  of  every  bomb,  it  seemed  as  it*  scores 
dropped  dead  or  writhed  in  agony  upon  the  field.  Some  were 
crawling  on  their  hands  and  kuees,  'some  were  piled  up  to- 
gether, and  sjmc  were  tying  seattered  around  in  every  atti- 
tude that  imagination  can  conceive. 

u  With  the  dispcrsiou  of  the  enemy's  reserve,  the  whole 
mass  broke  and  ran  like  a  flock  of  wild  sheep.  Jackson's 
men,  yelling  like  devils,  now  charged  upon  the  scattered 
crowd,  hut  you  could  notice  that  they  themselves  had  severely 
suffered,  and  were  but  a  handful!  compared  with  the  over- 
whelming forces  of* the  enemy.  The  flags  of  two  or  three 
regiments  did  not  appear  to  he  more  than  fifty  yards  apart. 
The  brilliant  affair  did  not  occupy  more  than  half  an  hour, 
hut  in  that  brief  time  over  three  hundred  and  fifty  Yankee 
souls  had  been  '  launched  into  eternity,  and  five  times  that 
number  left  mangled  upon  the  ground.  It  was  like  the  waves 
rolling  against  a  solid  rock,  and  dashing  back  in  showers  of 
sjfray.  A  golden  opportunity  was  now  at  hand  for  Longstrect 
to  attack  the  exposed  left  flank  of  the  enemy  in  front  of  him, 
and  he  accordingly  ordered  the  advance  of  Hood's  division, 
which  moved  obliquely  to  the  right  and  forward  of  the  pos:- 
tion  it  had  occupied.  Kemper  next  followed,  with  the  brig- 
ade of  (Jeueral  Jenkins  on  the  right  of  that  of  Pickett,  and 
Jones'  division  completed  our  liue-of-battle.  The  brigade  of 
Kvans  acted  as  a  support  to  Hood. 

"Not  many  minutes  elapsed  after  the  order  to  attack  before 
the  volleys  of  platoons,  and  finally  the  rolling  reports  of  long 
lines  of  musketry  indicated  that  the  battle  was  in  full  pro 
gress.  The  whole  army  was  uow  in  motion.  The  woods  were 
iull  of  troops,  ami  the  order  for  the  supports  to  forward  at  i\ 
quick  step  was  received  with  enthusiastic  cheers  by  the  elated. 
men.  The  din  was  almost  deafening.  The  heavy  note-  of 
the  artillery  at  first  deliberate,  but  gradually  increasing  in 
rapidity,  mingled  with  the  sharp  treble  of  the  small  am  s, 
gave  one  an  idea  of  some  diabolical  conceit  in  which  all  the 
furies  of  hell  were  at  work.  Through  the  woods,  over  genily 
rolling  hills,  now  and  then  through  an  .ppen  field,  we  travel 
towards  the  front.  From  an  elevation  we  obtain  a  view  of  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  field.  Hood  and  Kemper  are  now 
hard  at  it,  and  as  they  press  forward,  never  yielding  an  inch, 
sometimes  at  a  double-quick,  you  hear  these  unmistakable 
yells  which  tell  of  a  Southern  charge  era  Southern  success. 


|-^  LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

"The  troops  the}  encounter  are  tin-  best  disciplined  in  the 
Yankee  army,  and  for  a  little  while  most  obstinately  do  they 
coutest  every  inch  of  ground  over  which  we  advance.  No- 
Uiing,  however,  can  withstand  the  impetuosity  ol'  our  boy*. 
Kvery  liue  of  the  enemy  has  been  broken  and  dispersed,  bin 
rallies  again  upon  some  other  position  behind.  Hood  has 
already  advanced  his  division  nearly  half  a  mile  at  a  double 
quiofc — the  Texans,  Georgians,  and  Hampton  Legion  loading 
and  tiring  as  they  run,  yeHing  all  the  while  like  madmen. 
They  have  captured  one  <>r  two  batterie%and  various  stands  of 
colors,  and  are  still  pushing  the  enemy  before  them.  Evans, 
at  the  head  of  his  brigade,  is  following  on  the  right,  as  their 
support,  aud  pouring  in  his  effective  volleys.  Jenkins  has 
come  in  on  the  right  of  the  Qui  no  House,,  and,  like  an  ava- 
lanche, sweeps  down  upon  the  legions  before  him  with  resist- 
less force.  Still  further  to  the  right  is  Longstreetls  old 
brigade,  composed  of  Virginians,  veterans  of  every  battle- 
field, all  of  whom  are  lighting  like  furies.  The  First  \  irginia, 
Which  opened  the  ball  at  Bull  Run  on  the  17th  of  .July, 
L861,  with  over  six  hundred  men,  now  reduced  to  less  than 
eighty  members,  is  winning  new  laurels  ;  but  out  of  the  little 
handful  more  than  a  third  have  already  bit  the  dust.  Toombs 
and  Anderson,  with  the  Georgians,  together  with  Kemper  and 
.Jenkins,  are  swooping  around  on  the  right,  flanking  the  Fe- 
derals, and  driving  them  towards  their  ceutre  and  rear.  Es- 
chclman,  with  his  company  of  the  Washington  Artillery, 
Major  Garuett,  with  his  battalion  of  Virginia  batteries,  and 
others  of  our  big  guns,  are  likewise  working  around  upon  the 
enemy's  left,  and  ] touring  an  enfilading  fire  into  both  their  in- 
fanfcry  and  artillery. 

"  We  do  nothing  but  charge  !  charge  ! !  charge  !  !  !      If  the 

uiom\  m;ik''  a  bold  effort  to  retrieve   the  fortunes  ol'  the  day, 

t  aud  the\  made  many,!  and  we  are  repul  ed,  it  i     but  for  the 

"cut.  and  tt>-  >■ ■■•  oucni    rail}  ing  upon  their  support,  plunge 

lib   int.'   ,!:■•   tempcsl    of  Lire  that  before  swept  them 

"Some  of  the  positions  of  the  enemy  were  strong  a.-  Na 
lure  could  make  them,  and  were  charged  live  or  six  times,  but 
each  time  our  soldiers  were  turned  back  by  sheer  physical  in- 
ability to  surnfount  the.  obstacles  before  them.  It  was  then 
grand  to  witness  the  moral  heroism  with  which,  though  their 
comrades  went  down  like  swaths  of  srraSs  under  the  mower's 


LIFE  OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  189 

scythe,  other  men  continued  to  step  into  the  path  of  death 
with  cheerful  alacrity,  and  still  to  fall  with  the  battle  shout 
upon  their  lips,  and  the  proud  smile  of  conscious  valor  ou 
their  faces." 

Such  arc  tlic  animated  paragraphs  of  u  Personne." 

({radically  as  the  fierce  straggle  progressed,  the  sides  of  the 
open  \  ,  which  our  order  of  battle  resembled,  closed  upon  the 
flanks  of  the  enemy.  Colonel  Lee's  artillery  still  coutinucd 
bo  play  with  destructive  effect  upon  their  front,  and  the  batte- 
ries were  regularly  advanced  from  position  to  position,  raking 
from  every  hillock,  with  a  merciless  storm  of  shotand  shell, 
the  lines  of  the  enemy. 

The  battle  has  now  become  terrific.  The  ruses  ana  ma- 
noeuvres of  the  morning  had  long  yielded  to  desperate,  stul - 
born  lighting,  and  the  day  depended  not  so  much  upon  any 
military  skill  ot  the  Generals,  as  upon  the  character  of  the 
troops  engaged.  The  Northern  man  was  pitted  against  the 
Southerner,  and  from  the  first  the  result  was  not  doubtful. 
The  enemy  fought  hard,  but  that  U  heart  of  hope,"  which 
adds  so  much  to  the  efficiency  of  the  soldier,  had  deserted 
(hem,  and  they  contended  doggedly,  but  without  the  dash  and 
fervor  which  compel  victory.  Gradually  the  great  Southern 
lines  closed  in  upon  them.  Long-street's  right  pressed  dowu 
upou  their  left,  and  Jacksou's  column  swung  round,  steady, 
heavy, resistless,  upon  their  right,  huddling  the  disordered  regi- 
ments and  brigades  upon  their  centre. 

This  was  the  situation  of  affairs  as  the  sun  sank  slowly  tc- 
ward  the  west,  and  the  Confederate  leaders  now  concentrated 
all  their  forces  for  a  last  charge,  which  should  carry  ever}-- 
thing  before  it.  The  batteries  redoubled  their  exertions,  the 
air  was  hot  and  sulphurous  with  exploding  missiles,  whole 
ranks  went  down  before  the  whirlwind  of  ir-ou,  and  the  con- 
tinuous streaming  roar  of  musketry  was  frightful  in  its  inten- 
sity. The  enemy  continued  to  give  ground;  our  reserves 
were  hurried  forward  to  the  front,  and  just  ns  the  sun  sank,  a 

9* 


L90  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

general  bayonet  charge  was  made  all  along  oar  Knee.  From 
the  dust  and  smoke  of  battle  there  appeared  all  at  once  be- 
fbre  die  eyes  of  the  disheartened  LY'deralsa  rapidly  advancing 
line  fritfrgleaming  bayonets,  and  this  line  swept  forward  at  a 
run,  with  the  resistless  power  of  a  torrent.  "  They  came  on/' 
says  the  corrcspondenl  of  a  Northern  journal,  u  like  demons 
emerging  fatal  the  earth."  There  was  do  pause,  no  hesita- 
tion. The  Federal  volleys  tore  through  the  line,  but  could 
ii..:  eheet  it.  The  men  pressed  on  with  deafening  cheers  over 
iii.  .load  and  dying — the  ranks  closing  np  where  gaps  were 
made — the  fury  of  1  tattle  burning  in  every  soul;  and  before 
thi>  resistless  charge  the  last  remnant  of  hope  deserted  the 
federal  troop.-.  They  no  longer  came  up  to  the.  straggle. 
They  broke)  ran.  and  pursued  by  the  pitiless  lire  and  gleam- 
ing bayonets  of  the  Confederates  disappeared,  shattered  aud 
overwhelmed  in  the  rapidly  gathering  darkness. 

The  field  was  ours.  The  long  contest  was  ended;  victory 
a^.^urcd  ;  the  great  army  which  had  advauced  to  the  assault 
with  colors  flying  and  certain  of  victory  was  a  routed  and  deci- 
mated multitude,  which  now  thought  of  nothing  but  ita  safety 
behind  the  sheltering  heights  of  Oentreville. 

Jackson's  veteraus  had  takeu  their  full  part  in  the  despe- 
rate combat,  aud  sweeping  down  upon  the  wavering  lines,  had 
led  the  wild  charge  which  put  them  to  linal  rout.  The  right- 
ing of  the  old  corps  had  been  obstinate,  dogged,  fatal,  as 
always.  They  had  sustained  every  assault  with  undaunted 
firmness;  repulsed  every  attempt  to  force  them  from  their 
ground  ;  and  then  advancing  in  their  turn,  had  pushed  the 
enemy  from  position  after  position,  aud  swept  onward  to 
victory. 

"It  was  a  task  of  almost  superhuman  labor,"  says  the  cor- 
respondent from  whom  we  have  already  quoted,  "to  drive  the 
euemy  from  those  strong  points,  defended,  as  they  were,  by 
the  best  artillery  and  infantry  in  the  Federal  army;  but  in 
less  than  four  hours  from  the  commencement  of  the  battle  our 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  l'.»l 

indomitable  energy  had  accomplished  everything.  The  arri- 
val of  11  H.  Anderson,  with  his  reserves,  soon  after  the  en- 
gagement was  fully  opened,  proved  a  timely  acquisition,  and 
the  handsome  manner  iu  which  he  brought  his  troops  "into  po- 
sition, showed  the  cool  and  skillful  General.  Oar  tumorals — 
Lee,  Lougstreet,  Jackson,  Hood,  Kemper,  Evans,  Jones, 
Jenkins  and  others — all  shared  the  dangers  to  which  they  ex- 
posed their  men.  How  well  their  Colonels  and  subordinate 
officers  performed  their  duty  is  best  testified  by  the  list  of 
killed  and  wounded.- 

"  The  battle  raged  in  the  manner  described  until  after  dark, 
and  when  it  was  impossible  to  use  firearms,  the  heavens  were 
lit  up  by  the  still  continued  flashes  of  the  artillery,  and  the 
meteor  flight  of  shells  scattering  their  iron  spray.  By  this 
time  the  enemy  had  been  forced  across  Bull  Run,  aud  their 
dead  covered  every  acre  from  the  starting  poiut  of  the  light 
to  the  Stone  Bridge.  Had  we  been  favored  with  another 
hour  of  daylight,  their  rout  would  have  been  as  great  as  that 
which  followed  the  original  battle  of  Manassas.  As.it  was, 
they  retreated  in  haste  and  disorder  to  the  heights  of  Centre- 
villc.  We  had  driven  them  up  hill  and  down  a  distance  of 
two  and  a  half  miles,  captured  between  twenty  aud  thirty 
pieces  of  artillery,  several  huudred  prisoners,  (though  few 
soldiers  cared  to  be  troubled  by  the  latter,)  and  some  six  or 
eight  thousand  staud  of  arms. 

"  The  field  after  the  battle  is  a  portion  of  the  history  of  the 
day  which  peu  caunot  fulty  describe.  But  if  the  reader  can 
imagine  himself  standing  on  the  heights  around  the  old  Henry 
House,  aud  looking  across  the  country  in  the  direction  which 
we  advanced,  over  the  gullies,  ravines  aud  vallies  which 
divided  the  opposite  hills,  he  will  sec  dead  and  wounded  lying 
by  thousands  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach.  The  woods  are 
likewise  full  of  them.  It  has  been  remarked  by  every  one 
that  the  enemy  on  this  vast  hecatomb  outnumbered  us  live  or  six 
to  oue.  They  lie  thickest  upon  the  slopes  and  summits  where 
their  batteries  were  planted,  and  the  infantry  were  drawn  up 
as  supporters,  in  many  instances  as  many  as  eighty  or  ninety 
dead,  marking  the  place  where  fought  a  single  regiment.  It 
is  one  of  the  singular  coincidences  of  this  strange  battle,  that 
Hood's  brigade  encountered  on  Saturday  precisely  the  same 
troops  whom  they  met  at  Gaines'  Mill  iu  the  battles  before 
Richmond — the  Duryea  Zoua;  es,  fierce  fellows  in  red  b 


192  LIFE   (>F   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

breeches,  red  skull  oaps  and  blue  embroidered  jackets— and 
that  occasion  literally  mowed  them  down. 

"  In  front  of  the  Chinn  House,  which  is  oow  a  hospital,  the 
havoc  li!o  been  terflble.     The  ground  is  strewn  nol  only  with 
men,  but  amis,  ammunition,  provisions,  haversacks,  canto 
and  whatever  else  the  affrighted  B\  lerals  could  throw  away  to 
lacilitate  theirfligbf  before  onr onsets  at  thai  point.     Several 

on,  broken  caissons,  wheels  and  numbers  of  dead  hoi 
are  also  bo  be  seen  here"! 

"  In  front  of  the  position  occupied  by  Jackson's  men,  the 
killed  arc  even  more  plentiful.  In  many  places  you  can  nol 
walk  three  steps  without  being  compelled  to  step  over  or  around 
a  corpse." 

Srn-h  was  the  great    second    battle    of  Manassas.      The  de- 

tion  of  '  Personne'  is  vivid  and  accurate,  though  itouiita 

man)  The  part  taken  by  Major  General  Stuarl  in  the 

<  ■  i  ats  of  the  day  was  important.  He  commanded  the  divi- 
sion of  infantry  which  toward  nightfall  made  the  vigorous  and 
successful  attack  upon  the  enemy's  left;  and  bis  cavalry  were 
iged  on  the  Hanks  of  the  army  throughout  the  day.  \.\ 
the  enemy  were  giving  way  on  our  right  an  impetuous  charge 
was  mad"  by  a  body  of  cavalry  under  Col.  Munford,  of  the 
2d  Virginia,  which  terminated,  after  a  close  hand-to-hand 
conflict,  in  the  complete  rout  of  the  largely  superior  force 
brought  against  him.  This  ended  the  conflict  in  that  part  of 
the  field,  and  the  enemy  broke  and  fled,  pursued  by  our  ar- 
tillery and  cavalry  to  the  banks  of  Bull  Llun,  over  which  their 
confused  column  hastened  on  its  way  to  Ccutrcville-. 

The  gallant  young  b  ildier  of  A.  I'.  Hill's  division,  from 
whole  letter  to  his  mother  we  have  already  quoted,  has  the 
following  sentences  specially  relating  to  our  subject  : 

Saturday  morning — day  ever  memorable!    for   it   broke 

the  back  of  the  greal  lying  nation — pur  corps  still  held  that 

reel    formed  on  our  right,  obtuse-angled  to 

us,  so  that,  if  tl  upon  fori  in     u;   hick,  their  flank 

would   '  -in'.!,   ;i    they   forced   him 

,  their  flank  would  |        1  to  us      This  arrangement 


LIFE    Of   STONEWALL   .JAtJKSON.  103 

was  concealed  from  then,  so  far,  that  they  suspected  our 
Strength"  to  lie  to  our  left.  Skirmishing  and  distant  cannon- 
ading lasted  till  one  P  31.,  when  the  action  commenced  and 
soon  grew  infinitely  furious.  But  they  were  out-geticralh  d 
and  beaten  from  the  start,  and,  at  half-past  four  or  five  i\  M., 
it  was  plain  that  they  were  terribly  whipped.  The  fight  was 
by  far  the  most  horrible  and  deadly  that  I  have  seen.  Jus! 
at  sunset,  our  wings  swept  round  in  pursuit ;  Jackson  swing- 
ing his  left  on  the  right  as  a  pivot,  and  Longstrect  iu  the  re- 
verse method.  Their  dead  on  the  field  were  iu  such  numbers 
as  to  sicken  even  the  veterans  of  Richmond  and  the  Shenan- 
doah Valley;  they  lefl  2,000  dead — rotting  clay — and  almost 
innumerable  wouuded.  Their  discipline  and  the  night  saved 
them  from  a  rout.  They  retreated  in  tolerable  order  to  Cen- 
fcrevillc.  'Twas  decisive;  their  whole  army  eugaged — only 
two  corps  of  ours;  and  their  loss,  I  think,  ten  to  one  on  our 
side." 

Thus  ended  the  bitter  contest  upon  the  weird  plains,  al- 
ready so  deeply  crimsoned  with  Southern  blood.  Strange 
Providence  which  rolled  the  tide  of  battle  there  again ! 
which  made  the  huge  wave  break  in  foam  again  in  the  melan- 
choly fields  around  Stone  Bridge.  It  was  a  veritable  repeti- 
tion of  the  fierce  drama  of  July,  1861.  "Batteries  were 
planted  and  captured  yesterday,"  says  a  writer,  "  where  they 
were  planted  and  captured  last  year.  The  pine  thicket,  where 
the  Fourth  Alabama  and  Eighth  Georgia  suffered  so  terribly 
in  the  first  battle,  is  now  strewn  with  the  slain  of  the  invader. 
We  charged  through  the  same  woods  yesterday,  though  from 
a  different  point,  where  Kirby  Smith,  the  Blucher  of  the  day, 
entered  the  fight  be£>rc."  ' 

The  strength  of  the  invader  of  our  soil  was  broken  again, 
as  it  had  been  in  the  battle  of  the  21st  July.  Again  he  fled 
ignominiously  across  Bull  Run,  pursued  by  our,  victorious 
troops,  leaving  behind  him  the  debris  of  a  panic-stricken  re- 
treat. In  August  of  1862,  as  in  July  of  1861,  the  writer  of 
lines  saw,  as  he  followed  the  retreating  horde,  the  rub- 
bish of  knapsacks,  oil  cloths,  swords,  guns  bayonets,  artillery, 


ktt  LIFE    Of    >L<>N  i:\VALI.    JACKSON 

broken-down  vehicles, and — worse  rubbish  still — dirty  Federal 
stragglers  in  blue  coats,  with  coarse,  low-browed  faces,  lull  of 
deceit  and  vulgarity — that  vulgarity  of  the  bou!  which  is  in 
the.^e  people,  and  can  no  mure  be  rooted  out  than  the  spots  of 
the  leopard  can  be  changed,  or  the  skin  of  the  Ethiopian 
made  white.  All  this  crowded  upon  the  right  along  the 
same  road  to  Centreville,  over  which  Pope  retreated,  a> 
McDowell  had  retreated   before  him,  runted  and  broken. 

A  few  words  will  terminate  our  sketch  of  these  great 
events 

On  Sunday,  Jackson's  corps  WBS  again  in  niotiou,  and 
pressed  the  enemy  towards  Centreville.  General  Stuart  pur-' 
*ued  with  his  cavalry,  and  fought  their  rear-guard  at  Cub 
liuu  bridge,  which  they  burned  behind  them  The  cavalry 
moved  to  the  left,  struck  into  the  Little  River  turnpike,  to- 
ward Chantilly,  and,  getting  into  the  enemy's  rear,  tired  into 
their  trains;  then — Sunday  evening — rapidly  retreating  to- 
ward Fairfax  Court  House.  On  Monday  morning,  the  ad- 
vance of  Jackson,  who  had  changed  his  line  of  march  and 
followed  the  cavalry,  appeared  on  the  Little  River  road,  and 
on  the  afternoon  of  that  day — September  1st — a  brief  but 
severe  encounter  took  place  at  Ox  Hill,  just  above  the  little 
village  of  Germantown.  The  Federal  force  eugaged  was  a 
portion  of  Franklin's  corps,  which  had  taken  no  part  in  the 
battles  of  the  preceding  days,  and  tin;  contest  was,  fur  a  time, 
exceeding  obstinate — Jhe  Federals  losing  General  Kearney 
and  other  prominent  officers.  The  battle  was,  however,  inter- 
rupted by  a  severe  thunder-storm,  ami,  darkness  coining  on 
.-oon  afterwards,  the  enemy  took  advantage  of  that  circum- 
stance, and  withdrew  from  oar  front. 

On  the  same  night,  they  retreated  from  Fairfax  Court 
House,  and  the  Confederates,  on  the  next  day,  entered  iu 
triumph,  amid  the  joyful  exclamations  of  the  loyal  inhabit- 
ants, so  long  subjected  to  the  insults  and  oppression  of  their 
•nemies 


I.I  FE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  195 

Pope —  like  Jiauks,  Fremont,  Shields  and  Milroy-r-had 
passed  away;  his  lurid  star  obscured  by  the  clouds  of  dis- 
aster and  defeat.  The  star  of  Jackson  mounted  toward  the 
zenith — it  was  the  star  of  Victory. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

[NVASION    OF    MARYLAND. 

Tims  ended  the  great  summer  campaign, which  was- to  have 
'•  crushed  the  rebellion  "  before  the  forest  leaves  were  touched 
by  the  finger  of  autumn. 

It  had  commenced  with  boasts  and  braggadocia ;  it  ended 
in  ignominious  defeat.  General  Pope  had  advanced  with  the 
air  of  a  world-conqueror  about  to  exterminate  a  foe  whom  he 
depised.  He  slunk  away  with  his  shattered  columns  behind 
the  defences  of  Washington,  like  a  dog  who  has  been  met  by 
the  lash,  and  driven  howling  from  the  held. 

The  battle-flag  of  the  South  floated  proudly  where  the 
standards  of  the  enemy  had  flouted  the  air,  aud  uew  fields 
were  open  to  the  Southern  army.  Maryland  was  now  unde- 
fended; and  the  smoke  of  battle,  had  scarcely  lifted  from  the 
plains  of  Manassas,  when  our  victorious  columns  were  in  mo- 
tion toward  the  upper  Potomac. 
•  Long  before,  Jackson  had  written  to  a  friend,  who  was  the 
recipient  of  his  most  private  feelings  : 

"  I  am  cordially  with  you  in  favor  of  carrying  the  war 
north  of  the  Potomac." 

It  would  appear,  that  from  the  beginning  of  his  military 
career,  he  had  looked  forward  to  an  invasion  of  the  enemy's 
territory  as  the  only  certain  means  of  bringing  the  war  to  an 
end  ;  aud  if  his  abruptly  terminated  campaign  toward  Rom- 
uey  in  January  be  attentively  studied,  it  will  leave  the  im- 
pressioo  thai  even  then,  with  the  great  foree  in  front  of  him, 


196  LIM   Of   STONEWALL   JAGKSOH. 

lie  believed  thai  great*  e  resulta  would  be  achieved  by  ;i  tor- 
ward  movement,  and  a  transfer  of  hostilities  i«»  the  regioi  be- 
yond the  Potomac,  than  by  railing  back,  and  yielding  po 

siou  of  the  Valley,  to  be  overrun  and  plandered  by  the 
enemy.  * 

To  adoanci  seems,  indeed,  to  have  been  the  prime  maxim 
of  this  great  man's  military  philosophy — to  Btrike   the  I 
vnliMui  vraiticg  to  be  struck  by  him— to  make   him  feel  the 
horrors   of  war.  amid    his    own    homes,   and    thus    imprc 

tlie  people  of  the  North  the  atrocious  nature  of  thr  con- 
test, compel  uu  early  peace. 

The  signal  of  the  long  wished  for  advance  now  came.  *'  ( >D 
to  Maryland !"  was  the  watchword ;  and  the  old  veteram  of 
in',  son  moved  forward  at  the  signal,  joyous,  elated,  confident 
of  victory,  and  burning  with  ardor  at  the  thought  that  the 
lair  jilds  of  Virginia,  the  homes  of  their  loved  ones,  would  be 
relieved  of  the  horrors  of  war. 

No  time  was  lost  b}r  Gen.  Lee  iu  commencing  his  move- 
ment. It  was  necessary  to  gaiu  a  foothold  in  Maryland  be- 
fore the  disorganized  forces  of  the  Federal  government  were 
again  put  in  fighting  condition,  and  the  campaign  began  with 
energy  and   rapidity. 

Gen.  Jackson  having,  after  his  custom,  inquired  with  great 
interest  what  roads  led  to  the  Potomac,  in  the  direction  of 
Arlington  Ji eights,  and  ordered  ma\)s  to  be  prepared  of  the 
region  for  his  use,  put  his  troops  in  motion  toward  Leesburg. 
Marching  by  Draacsville,  whicli  he  reached  on  September  3d, 
the  second  day  after  the  battle  at  Ox  Hill,  he  arrived  at 
Leeflbnrg  on  the  4th,  and  was  there  joined  by  the  other  corps 
of  the  army. 

On  the  5th  the  passage  of  the  Potomac  was  effected  with- 
out resistance.  It  i-  said  to  have  been  an  inspiring  spectacle. 
Says  a  correspondent : 

"  When  our  army  reached  the  middle  of  the  river,  which 
they  were  wading,  thr-   fcj     |       <    re   hilt^d,  General  Jackson 


LIFE    OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  Wt 

pulled  ofl"  his  hut,  and  the  splendid  bauds  of  music  struck  up 
the  inspiring  air  of  l  Maryland,  my  Maryland,'  which  was  re- 
sponded to  and  sung  with  '  the  spirit  and  with  the  under- 
standing'by  all  who  could  sing,  and  the  name  of  all  who 
j^ould  then  and  there  sing  was  legion. " 

No  pause  was  permitted  now;  and  the  army  pushed  for- 
ward rapidly  toward  Frederick  City,  which  the  idvauce 
reached  on  the  same  day.  We  shall  quote  again  from  fI  Per- 
sonnel the  intelligent  writer  whose  letter-  have  already  sup- 
plied us  with  particulars  ui'  the  movements  and  contests  of 
the  army.  The  paragraphs  extracted  are  valuable  as  present- 
ing the  impressions  of  an  eye  witness,  and  thus  affording  a 
life-like  picture  of  events  at  the  moment  when  the  pages  were 
written.  The  letter  is  dated  at  Frederick  City,  September 
7th,  two  days  after  the  arrival  of  the  Southern  army: 

"Thus  far,"  says  Tersonnc/  "  we  have  everywhere  met 
with  hearty  hospitality.  Along  the  road  the  farmery  have 
welcomed  t  he  presence  of  our  men  with  a  sincerity  tlurt  can- 
uut  be  misunderstood,  opened  their  houses  and  spread  their 
boards  with  the  fat  of  the  laud.  One  Marylander,  with 
whom  1  met,  has  fed  in  twenty-four  hours  six  hundred  hun- 
gry men,  free  of  charge.  Others  have  been  proportionately 
liberal. 

"Our  reception  up  to  this  point  has  been  all  that  we  could 
desire.  With  a  few,  the  enthusiasm  has  been  highly  demon- 
strative, but  the  majority  content  themselves  with  quie^mani- 
reetatious  of  the  warm  sympathy  they  feel.  Nearly  all  the 
houses  along  the  route  of  march  were  open,  and  invitations 
were  freely  extended  to  the  officers  to  spend  the  day  and 
night.  A  slight  indication  of  the  grateful  outbursts  of  the 
people  v>as  in  the  presentation  of  a  magnificent  huiv>e  to  Greirl 
Jackson,  by  tne  farmers,  within  au  hour  after  he  touched 
Maryland  soil. 

"The  advance  of  our  army  arrived  en  Friday  night,  and 
we  are  now  encamped  around  the  town.  vMartial  law  has 
been  proclaimed,  a  provost  martial  appointed,  and  a  strong 
guard  of  our  men  patrols  the  streets  to  preserve  order. 

u  In  the  sentiment  of  the  people  we  are  not  much  disap- 
pointed.    It  is  apparently  about  equally  divided,  and  there  is 


!''  LIFE   01    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

ye(    little  opeuly  expressed  enthusiasm.     A.a  Jack  sou      irnr 

hed    through,  the  houses  were  mostly  closed,  and   Pi 
between   the  window  blinds  the  citizens  could  be    jeen  aui- 
iously  peering  as  if  they  expected  to  see  a  crowd  uf  bi 
boos  intent  upon  nothing  but   rapine  and  slaughter.      A 
of  the  residences  were  open,  however,  and   in  those  ladic^ 
and  gentlemen  were  waving  their  handkerchiefs  and  display- 
ing tli"  Confederate  flag.     Prom  one,  the  residence  of  a  Mr. 
Uoss.  a  lawyer  of  high  standing,  his  family  were  distributing 
to  the  soldiers  a-  they  passed  eatables  and  clothing  to  such  as 
edy. 

••  Afterwards  the  family  invited  many  officers  to  the  house, 
where  they  were  handsomely  entertained  with  wines,  cij 
and  other  luxuries.     Mr.  Ross  himseif  has  been  confined  in 
Portress  McHenry  for  the  held  stand  he  took  at  an  early  hour 
in  favor  of  the  South. 

fiA$  soon  as  the  troops  were  encamped,  many  were  per- 
mitted to  cuter  the  town,  and  in  a  short  time  it  was  throngs  '1 
Confederate  money  was  taken  without  a  murmur  by  all  who 
opened  their  stores,  and  for  the  first  time  during  the  cam- 
paign we  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  purchasing  at  peace  prices 
the  articles  we  most  required.  Coftee  could  be  had  in  abun- 
dance at  twenty-five  cents  per  pound,  sugar  at  eleven  and 
twelve  cents,  salt  fifty  cents  a  sack,  boots  live  and  seven  dol- 
lars a  pair,  shoes  three  dollars,  flannel  forty  cents  a  yard,  and 
everything  else  in  proportion.  Lager  beer,  ice  cream,  date,-, 
confections,  preserves,  till  fbuud  ready  sale,  and  were  liberally 
di  l'l,  .  d  and  disposed  of. 

tl There  are  three  or  four  churches  in  the  (own,  and  fo-da; 
theyare  filled  with  our  officers  and  men.  attending  divine 
service." 

"  Persoftae"  thus  continues  his  letter  on    Monday,  SepteHl 

ber  8th  : 

"  Frederick  today  presents  a  busy  scene  more  like  that  of 
Fourth  July, festival  than  a  gathering  of  armed  invaders.  A 
majority  of  the  stores  are  closed  to  general  admission,  because 
of  the  crowds  eager  to  press  and  buy,  but  a  little  diplomacy 
secures  an  entrance  at  the  back  door,  or  past  the  sentinel 
wisely  stationed,  to  protect  the  proprietor  from  the  rush  of 
anxious  customers.  Prices  are  going  up  rapidly.  Everything 
is  so  cheap,  that  our  men  frequently  lay  down  a  five  dollar  bill 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  .JACKSON.  l!»'» 

to  pay  for  a  three  dollar  article,  and  rush  out  without  waiting 
for  the  change.  The  good  people  here  don't  understand  it. 
Bitter  complaints  are  uttered  against  those  who  refuse  Confe: 
derate  money,  and  it  is  understood  that  the  authorities  will 
insist  upon  its  general  circulation. 

"  The  people  are  beginning  to  recover  from  their  surprise  at 
our  sudden  appearance,  and  to  realize  the  magnitude  of  our 
preparations  to  advance  through  and  relieve  Maryland  from 
her  thraldom.  Some  arc  still  moody,  and  .evidently  hate  us 
heartily,  but  we  arc  more  than  compensated  by  the  warm  wel- 
come of  others,  who  now  begin  to  greet  us  from  every  quar- 
ter. Only  a  few  moments  ago  I  met  a  lady  who  confessed 
that  although  she  had  Confederate  flags  ready  to  expose  in 
her  windows  as  we  passed,  she  was  afraid  to  wave  them,  lest 
being  discovered  by  her  Union  neighbors  she  should  be  re- 
ported to  the  Federals  in  case  of  our  retreat,  and  be  thereby 
subjected  to  insult  if  not  imprisonment  at  their  hands.  To 
assjare  me  how  true  were  her  sentiments,  she  introduced  mc 
to  a  large  room  in  her  house,  where  there  were  fourteen  ladies, 
young  ;md  old,  busy  as  bees,  making  shirts,  drawers  and  other 
clothing  for  the  soldiers. 

"*She  was  also  distributing  money  and  'tobacco  to  the  .-•' 
diers.  Judging  probably  from  my  rags  that  I  too  was  in  a 
destitute  condition,  she  bcnevoleutly  desired  to  take  me  in 
hand  and  replenish  my  entity  throughout,  but  of  course  I 
declined,  and  though  I  could  not  help  smiling  at  the  ingenu- 
ous oddity  of  the  proposition,  a  tear  at  the  same  time  stole 
•  town  my  cheek  at  the  thought  of  the  sufferings  which  the  e 
noble  hearted  ladies  must  have  endured  to  prompt  the  unseb 
iisli  generosity  by  which  they  endeavored  to  express  their  ere 
light  in  our  presence. 

u  Though  thousands  of  soldiers  arc  now  roaming  through 
the  town,  there  has  not  been  a  solitary  instance  of  misde- 
meanor. I  have  heard  no  shouting,  no  clamor  of  any  kino, 
;iud  seen  but  a  single  case  of  intoxication — a  one-legged  Yan- 
kee prisoner 

"  All  who  visit  the  city  are  required  to  have  passes,  and 
the  only  persons  arrested  are  those  who  are  here  without 
leave.  This  quiet  behavior  of  our  men  contrasts  so  strongly 
with  that  of  the  Federals  when  here  as  to  excite  the  favor- 
able comment  of  the  Unionists.  None  of  the  latter  have,  to 
my  knowledge,   been  interfered  with,  and,   as  far  as   I  can 


200  LJFi:   01   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

learn,  it  i.-  nol  the  policy  of  our  commander  to  retaliate.  We 
-hall,  on  the  contrary,  pursue  a  conciliatory  course,  and  by 
kindness  endeavor  to  show  these  misguided  people  that  <>'ir 
home  should  he  their  home,  and  our  God  their  God. 

••  One  of  these  Union  men  frankly  confessed  to  me  that  he 
feared  his  own  neighbors  more  than  he  did  our  troops,  and  In' 

di'iiiM  regret  to  see  as  depart. 

'•The  only  outrage,  if  outrage  ir  can  be  called,  -which  has 
taken  place,  was  committed  by  the  citizen  Secessionists,  who 
entered  thexffice  of  the  Frederick  Examiner,  a  Black  Repub- 
lican newspaper  of  the  darkest  dye,  and  tore  it  to  pieces,  the 
editor  himself  fleeing  on  the  first  symptoms  of  our  advance. 

"  We  pay  for  everything  as  we  go,  the  farmers  being  com- 
pensated for  all  damage  by  the  burning  of  rails,  use  of  forage, 
or  destruction  of  crops,  before  we  break  up  camp. 

"  We  are  told  by*Marylandcrs  that  we  shall  have  an  acces- 
sion to  our  ranks  in  this  »State  of  over  forty  thousand  men, 
and  that  when  we  arrive  within  striking  distance  of  Balti- 
more, twenty  thousand  men  will  rise  in  arms  and  join  our 
standard.  A  gentleman  from  that  city  informs  me  that  the 
excitement  there  is  intense,  the  streets  being  blocked  up  by 
the  crowds,  and  an  armed  force  of  cavalry  and  infantry  cou- 
.-tantly  patrolling  the  city  to  keep  down  the  increasing  sign- 
of  a  revolution. 

'•  Recruiting  here  goes  on  rapidly.  Within  two  days  five 
companies  have  been  formed,  and  it  is  stated  that  from  the 
surrounding  country  over  seven  hundred  entered  our  ranks 
while  >n  route. 

"  Pennsylvania,  the  border  Hue  of  which  isf  only  some 
twenty-five  or  twenty-eight  miles  distant,  has  sent  us  nearly  a 
hundred  recruits,  who  prefer  service  in  the  Confederate  army 
!<•  being  drafted  in  that  of  the  North. 

"Altogether,  our  movement  has  been  thus  far  marked  by 
the  most  gratifying  success.  K\er\  detail  has  been  success- 
fully carried  out,  the  troops  are  in  good  health,  and  full  of  en- 
thusiasm, the  commissariat  is  improving,  and  we  wait  for 
nothing  more  anxiously  than  \]\v  order  to  resume  our  march 
onward." 

()u  the  same  day  General  Lee  issued  his  expected  address 
to  the  people  of  Maryland,  which  the  citizens  and  the  army 
equally  looked  for  with  the  deepest  interest.     Up  to  this   mo- 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.       .  'jJO  I 

ment  no  iudications  of  the  inteaded   policy   of  the   invading 
General  had  been  given,  and  the  paper  was  seized  upon    and 
perused  with  avidity  as  soon  as  it  appeared. 
It  was  in  the  following  words  : 

"  Headquarters  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  | 
"  Near  Frederick  Town,  Septemher  StJi.  1802.  '  J 

"  To  the  People  of  Maryland  : 

"It  is  right  that  you  should  know  the  purpose  that  ha  > 
brought  the  army  under  my  command  within  the  limits  of 
your  State,  so  far  as  that  purpose  concerns  yourselves. 

"The  people  of  the  Confederate  States  have  long  watched, 
with  the  deepest  sympathy,  the  wrongs  and  outrages  that  have 
been  inflicted  upon  the  citizens  of  a  Commonwealth  allied  to 
the  States  of  the  South  by  the  strongest  social,  political,  and 
commercial  ties.      • 

"  They  have  seen,  with  profound  indignation,  their  sister 
State  deprived  of  every  right,  and  reduced  to  the  condition  of 
a  conquered  province. 

"  Under  the  pretence  of  -supporting  the  Constitution,  but 
in  violation  of  its  most  valuable  provisions,  your  citizens  have 
been  arrested  and  imprisoned  upon  no  charge,  and  contrary  to 
all  forms  of  law.  Trie  faithful  and  manly  protest  against  this 
outrage,  made  by  the  venerable  and  illustrious  Maryland*  r>. 
to  whom,  in  better  days,  no  citizen  appealed  for  right  iu  vain, 
was  treated  with  scorn  and  contempt.  The  government  of 
\  our  chief  city  has  been  usurped  by  armed  strangers ;  your 
Legislature  has  been  dissolved  by  the  unlawful  arrest  of  it- 
members  ;  freedom  of  the  press  and  of  speech  have  been  sup- 
pressed ;  words  have  been  declared  offences  by  an  arbitrary 
decree  of  the  Federal  Executive,  and  citizens  ordered  to  )><• 
tried  by  a  military  commission  for  what  they  may  dare  to 
speak. 

u  Believing  that  the  people  of  Maryland  possessed  a  spirit 
too  lofty  to  submit  to  such  a  Government,  the  people  of  the 
South  have  long  wished  to  aid  you  in  throwing  off  this  foreign 
yoke,  to  enable  you  again  to  enjoy  the  inalienable  rights  of 
freemen,  and  restore  independence  and  sovereignty  to  your 
State. 
•    u  Tn  obedience  to  this  wish  our  army  ha^  come  among  yon, 


202  LIFE    OF    STONK.WALI,    JACKscN 

and  is  prepared  to  assisl   yon  with  the  power  of  its  arms  re 
ining  the  rights  of  which  you  have  been  despoiled. 
"  This,  citizens  of  Maryland,  is  oiw  mission,  so  far  as  yon 
are  concerned. 

"  Ntj  constraint  Ipon  your  tree  will  is  intended— *no  intimi- 
dation wiH  be  allowed,  / 

""Within  the  limits  of  this  army,  al  least,  Marylanders  shall 
more  ttjoj  their  ancient  freedom  of  thought  and    |     <-li 
"  We  know  no  enfoaies  among  you,  and  will  protect  all,  of 

opinion. 
••  It   is  for  yon  to  decide  your  destiny,  freely  and  without 
constraint. 

"  This  army  will  respect  your  choice,  whatever  it  may  be  ; 
and  while  the  Southern  penple  v\ill  rejoice  to  welcome  you  to 
your  natural  position  among  them,  they  will  only  welcome  you 
when  you  come  pf  your  own  free  will." 

."11.    Iv    Lre, 
•  G(  m ral  Cm/I iiunii/i'uij." 

The  campaign  in  Maryland  was  thus  undertaken  to  aid  the 
people  of  that   State  in   "throwing  oil   the  foreign  yoke" 

which  had  so  long  weighe'd  down  their  necks;   in   "rejjainin 
the  rights  of  which  they  had  been  despoiled)"   "  to  enable 
them  again  to  cujoy  the  inalienable  rights  of  freemen,  and  re 
store  independence  and  sovereignty  to  the  State. " 

Xo  citizen  would  be  coerced-;  no  man's  properly  taken  from 
hi  in  ;  if  he  joined  the  Southern  army  lie  would  be  welcdme, 
but  if  he  remained  at  home  he  would  not  be  molested.  To 
each  and  all  was  accorded  the  right  to  "decide  his  destiny, 
freely  and  without  constraint." 

When  the  impartial  Genius  of  History  comes  to  survey  the 
events  of  this  period,  ami  compares  the  infamous,  dhgormwk 
orders  of  John  Pope,  with  the  calm,  just  and  stately  procla- 
mation of  Robert  E.  Lee,  what  will  she  say? 

When  a  great  cause  has  such  leaders,  it  is  already  won. 

Certain  persons  have  put  themselves  to  the  trouble  of 
attempting  to  discover  a  profound  ruse  in  this  address.  Such 
a  construction  of  the  grave  and  Statesmanlike  paper  is  simply 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  #  208 

absurd.  The  advance  into  Maryland  was  made  for  the  pur- 
poses stated  by  Gen.  Lee,  and  circumstances  wBolly  beyond 
his  control — against  the  force  of  which  lie  could  not  contend — 
dictated  his  subsequent  operations.  What  these  circumstances 
were,  will  be  briefly  but  accurately  stated  in  the  ensuing  pages 
of  this  work. 

On.  Lee  had  thus  advanced  without  resistance  into  tlu' 
enemy's  country,  and  his  eagles  already  Began  to  open  their 
broad  wings  for  flight  toward  the  rich  fields  of  Pennsylvania. 
But  one  serious  cause  of  delay  existed,  which  changed  the 
whole  face  of  airairs.  This  was  the  fortress,  as  it  may  appro- 
priately be  called,  of  Harper's  Ferry.  At  Harper's  1'niy,  :, 
iorce  of  11,000  of  the  enemy,  with  73  pieces  of  artillery,  re- 
mained, directly  in  Gen.  Lee's  rear;  and  it  was  necessary  !»«■ 
fore  proceeding  to  enter  on  greater  movements,  to  root  out 
this  nest  of  the  enemy,  and  gain  possession  of  this  strong  point 
which  they  then  held. 

On  his  trial,  Gen.  McClellan,  in  reply  to  the  question  "  will 
\ou  give  a  statement  of  the  principle  events  connected  with 
the  Maryland  campaign  ?  "  said  : 

44  When  at  Frederick  we  found  the  original  order  issued  t«» 
Gen.  D.  H.  Hill  by  direction  of  Gen.  Lee,  which  gave  the 
orders  of  march  for  their  whole  army,  and  developed  their  in- 
tentions. The  substance  of  the- order  was,  that  Jackson  was 
to  move  from  Frederick  by  the  main  Hagerstowu  road,  and, 
leaving  it  at  some  point  near  Middleburg,  to  cross  the  Poto- 
mac near  Sharpsburg,  and  endeavor  to  capture  the  garrison  of 
Martiusburg,  and  cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  garrison  of  Har- 
per's Ferry  in  that  direction.  Gen.  McLaws  was  ordered, 
with  his  own  command  and  the  division  of  General  Anderson, 
to  move  out  by  the  same  Hagerstowu  road  and  gain  possession 
of  the  Maryland  Heights,  opposite  Harper's  Ferry.  General 
Walker,  who  was  then  apparently  somewhere  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Monocacy,  was  to  move  through  Lovettsville  and  gain  % 
possession  of  Loudoun  Heights,  thus  completing  the  invest- 
ment, of  Harper's  Perry.  Gen.  Longstreet  was  ordered  to 
move  to  Haoerstown,  with  Hill  to  serve  as  a  rear  guard.  Their 


f 


..'•(I  i,ikk   or   STONEWALL   JAfKSoN. 

reserve  trains  to  Manassas,  &c,  were  ordered  to  take  position 
either  at  Bponsboro'  or  Hagerstown,  1  hav  ■  now  forgotten 
which.  It  was  directed  in  the  same  order-  that  after  Jackson, 
Walker,  McLaws,  \<'..  had  taken  Harper's  Kerry,  they  were 
to  rejoin  the  main  army  at  Hagerstown  or  Boonsboro'.  Thai 
order  is  important  in  another  sonse.  Ii  shows  very  plainlj 
that  t-he  object  of  the  cnejuy  was  fo  ■_:"  t.>  Pennsylvania,  or  at 
least  to  remain  in  \laryland." 

Let  as  see  now  what  movements  were  made  by  the  em-iuy 
to  check  the  advance  <>f  Gen.  Lee,  relieve  Harper's  Ferry, 
ami  defeat  the  projected  invasion  of  Pennsylvania.  After 
the  battle  of  Manassas,  confusion  reigned  for  a  brief  period 
in  tin-  Federal  councils  at  Washington ;  and  the  advance  of 
the  Southern  army  was  regarded  with  a  terror  which  even  the 
official  documents  betray.  Net  only  the  people,  but  the  govern- 
ment also  were  tilled  with  dire  forebodings  of  the  terrible 
events  about  to  come  to  pass.  Troops  were  hurried  forward 
from  various  points  in  the  North;  the  remnants  of  the  army 
whieh  had  been  defeated  at  Manassas  were  collected  and  reor- 
ganized; all  the  reserves  which  had  not  arrived  in  time  to 
participate  in  those  great  contests,  were  put  in  requisition, 
and  another  army,  heterogeneous  in  character  but  vast  in 
numbers,  was  at  once  ready  to  take  the  field.  McClellan  was 
assigned  to  the  command,  and  the  entire  force  was  rapidly 
sent  forward  by  railway  toward  Frederick.  Never  had  the  enor- 
mous resources  of  men  and  material  of  the  Federal  govern- 
ment been  more  strikingly  displayed  ;  and  the  Southern  army 
was  called  uponspeedilv  to  meet  anew  swarm  of  foes,  brought 
forward  to  Washington,  and  thence  to  the  front,  from  the 
populous  hives  in  whieh — the  refuse  oi'  all  nations — they  had 
been  harboring.  .McClellan  depended,  however,  upon  his  old 
levies — that  reserve,  which  bad  not  been  engaged  at  Manas- 
,sas — lor  the  hard  lighting;  and  with  the  huge  mass,  old  sol- 
diers and  new,  veterans  and  conscripts,  hurried  forward  toward 
lfacrer=town. 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  206 

Meanwhile,  Gen,  Lee  had  commenced  his  operations,  look- 
ing to  the  reduction  of  Harper's  Ferry.  Gen.  McLaws  was 
sent  to  occupy  Maryland  Heights,  a  powerful  position  just 
opposite  the  town,  and  cut  oil*  the  enemy's  retreat  if  they 
attempted  to  fall  back  toward  Frederick,  while  Gen.  Jackson 
was  directed  to  march  straight  across  the  country  to  Williams- 
port,  take  possession  of  3Iartinsburg,  and  intercept  their  re- 
treat if  they  moved  up  the  river,  or  demand  the  instant  sur- 
render of  Harper's  Ferry.  '  Qen.  Jackson  could  take  care  of 
himself,  but  Gen.  McLaws  was  liable  to  be  assailed  in  the 
rear,  driven  from  his  position,  and  the  garrison  thus  relieved. 
A  strong  force  was  accordingly  posted  at  South  Mountain,  on 
the  main  road  from  Frederick  to  Boonsboro'^undei;  the  com- 
mand of  Gen.  J).  H.  Hill,  to  receive  the  attack  of  McClcllan, 
then  known  to  be  advancing;  and  Gen.  Longstreet's  corps 
was  held  in  reserve  to  move  in  any  direction  which  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  occasion  demanded. 

The  enemy  appeared  in  front  of  the  position  occupied  by 
Gen.  1).  [I.  Hill,  on  Sunday,  Sept.  14th,  and  immediately 
assailed  him  with  greatly  superior  numbers.  A  severe  con- 
flict endued,  the  enemy's  numbers  enabling  him  to  gain  posses- 
sion of  the  commanding  ground  on  Hill's  left,  and  by  over- 
lapping both  wings  of  his  force,  to  press  him  back.  Couriers 
were  immediately  sent  to  Gen.  Lee  announcing  the  position  ot 
affairs,  and  Longstreet  was  hurried  forward  to  Hill's  assistance. 
His  appearance  at  once  changed  the  face  of  things,  and  the 
ninny  who  were  rapidly  driving  Hill  back,  were  driven  back 
in  turn,  and  the  pass  in  the  mountains  hold. 

Receiving  information  that  Gen.  Jackson's  movement  had 
entirely  succeeded,  and  that  Harper's  Ferry  would  fall  on  the 
next  morning,  Gen.  Lee*  determined  to  withdraw  Gen.  Long- 
street  and  Gen.  Hill,  and  retire  toward  Sharpsburg,  where  his 
communications  would  be  uninterrupted,  and  his  army  could 
be  concentrated.  The  trains  were  accordingly  sent  forward, 
and  the  army  followed,  entirely  unmolested  by  the  enemy, 
10 


200  LIFE   OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

reaching    Sharpsburg  about  daylight   od  Monday    morpiug. 

Gen.  JJeClellan  hastened  soon  after  dawn  to  pass  through 
the  mountains,  and  push  forward  to  the  relief  of  Harper's 
Perry.  Bin  he  was  too  late.  The  golden  moment  had  passed 
away — the  strong  arm  of  Jackson  had  struck. 

General  Jackson  had  performed  the  work  allotted  to  him 
by  his  gri  Chief,  with  that  rapidity,  accu- 

racy, and  fatal  certain^  of  calculation  and  execution  which 
never  failed  to  characterize  htfe  movements.  While  Hill  was 
contending  with  McClellaa  near  Boonsboro',  on  Monday  even- 
ing, Harper's  Ferry  was  ahead y  invested.  The  summons  to 
surrender  was  at  first  refused,  and  time  was  asked  for.  But 
delay  was  not  a  favorite  word  with  General  Jackson.  He 
posted  his  guns>gj?as  to  command  the  town,  drew  up  for  the 
assault,  and  demanded  an  instant  surrender.  The  result  is 
told  in  the  following  dispatch  sent  on  the  nexl  day: 

"Headquarters  Vallei    District,} 
"September  L6,  18G2.      j 

*' COLONEL, — Yesterday  God  crowned  our  arms  with  an- 
other brilliant  success  on  the  surrender,  at  Harper's  Ferry,  of 
Brigadier  General  White  and  11,000  troops,  an  equal. number 
of  small  arms,  To  pieces  of  artillery,  and  about  200  wagons. 

"  In  addition  to  other  stores,  there  is  a  large  amount  of 
camp  and  garrison  equipage.  Our  loss  was  very  small.  The 
meritorious  conduct  of  officers  and  men  will  be  mentioned  in 
a  more  extended  report.  , 

••  I  am.  Colonel, 

"Your  obedient  servant, 

"T.  J.Jackson,  Major- General. 
"Col.  Ft.  II.  Chilton,  .!.    1.  General" 

It  has  been  truthfully  declared  that  the  capture  of  Har- 
per's Ferry  was  worth  the  entire  campaign  in  Maryland;  and 
the  splendid  results  achieved  induced  the  belief,  above. al- 
luded to,  that  General  Lee  had  no  other  end  in  view  when  he 
advanced  into  that  country.  Such  a  supposition  is  exceed- 
ingly absurd  3  but  the  capture  of  11,000  prisoners,  78  pieces 


LIFE   OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  207 

of  artillery,  and  200  wagon.-,  is  an  amount  of  damage  done  to 
an  enemy,  which  few  victories  result  in. 

No  good  fortune,  however,  is  entirely  without  alloy,  and 
the  movement  against  Harper's  Ferry  had  withdrawn  from 
General  Lee  a  force  at  that  moment  infinitely  precious.  With 
Jackson's  and  McLaws'  commands  detached  from  the  main 
body,  he  had  been  compelled  to  fall  hack  to  Sharpsburg,  in 
order  to  unite  his  anf.y,  and  thus  instead  of  occupying  the 
aggressive  attitude  of  an  invader,  to  stand  on  the  defensive. 

General  JatksoD  left  a  force  under  General  A.  P.  Hill,  t<- 
hold  Harper's  Ferry  *and  retracing  his  steps,  rapidly  hastened 
to  rejoin  General  Lee  near  Sharpsburg. 


CHAPTER   XXVI 


sil  VRPSBURC 


The  battle  near  Boousboro'  took  place  on  Sunday,  Septem- 
ber 14th.  Harper's  Ferry  surrendered  on  the  morning  of  the 
1 5th.  Tuesday,  the  10th,  was  occupied  by  "both  combatants 
in  concentrating  their  detached  forces,  for  the  great  Battle 
which  was  to  ensue. 

On  Wednesday,  September  17th,  the  two  armies  were  in 
front  of  each  other,  in  the  valley  <3f  Antietam  creek.  One 
who  was  present  thus  describes  the  ground  : 

"The  battle  was  fought  in  the  valley  immediately  west  of 
that  portion  of  the  Blue  Ridge  known  as  the  South  Moun- 
tains, and  to  the  east  and  north  of  §harpsburg,  almost  in  a 
semi  circle,  the  concave  side  of  which  is  to  the  town.  Unlike 
most  of  the  valleys  in  this  Blue  Ridge  country,  this  valley 
has  not  a  level  spot  in  it,  but  rolls  into  eminences  of  all  di- 
mensions, from  the  little  knoll  that  your  horse  gallops  easily 
over,  to  the  rather  high  hills  that  make  him  tug  like  a  mule. 
Many  of  the  depressions  between  these  hills  are  dry,  and  af- 
ford admirable  cover  for  infantry  against  artillery.  ^  Others 
are  watered  by  the  deep,  narrow,  and  crooked  Antietam,  a 


208  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

stream  thai  seems  to  observe  do  decorum  in  respect  to  its 
course,  but  has  to  be  crossed  every  ten  minutes,  rule  which 
you  will.  Sharpsburg  lies  on  the  western  Bide  of  the 
valley,  and  :i  little  to  the  south  from  our  pwlnl  of  view.  Right 
the  valley  from  the  northeast  runs  the  turnpike  from 
■'  to  j3harpsburg.  Two  little  villages — Poterstown 
and  Kn  t<  rs\  ille,  or  Ke<  lysville — lie  on  the  eastern  Bide  of 
the  valley,  at  the  foot  of  the  South  .Mountains.  Numerous 
line  farm  houses  do!  the  valley  in  every  direction,  some  stand- 
it  plainly  and  boldly  on  the  hill-tops,  others  hall  hidden 
down  the  little  slope-,  and  with  the  large,  comfortable  barns 
about  them,  and  their  orchards  of  fruit  trees,  those  hitherto 
happy  and  quiet  homes,  greatly  enrich  the  view,  at  least  to 
the  eyes  of  old  campaigners.  Nearly  every  part  of  the  valley 
is  under  cultivation,  and  the  scene  is  thus  varied  into  squares 
of  the  light  green  of  nearly  ripened  corn,  the  deeper  green  of 
clover,  and  the  dull  brown  of  newly  ploughed  fields.  To- 
wards the  north  are  some  dense  woods.  Imagine  this  scene 
spread  in  the  hollow  of*  an  amphitheatre  of  hills  that  rise  in 
terraces  around  it.  and  vou  have  the  field  of  last  Wednesday's 
battle  " 

Such  was  the  field  upon  which  the  two  leaders  who  had 
already  met  upon  the  banks  of  the  Ohickahominy  were  again 
to  contend  in  one  of  those  bloody  conflicts,  which  will  throw  a 
•  so  lurid  and  baleful  upon  the  annals  of  this  period.  ]$u* 
the  circumstances  under  which  the  present  battle  would  be 
fought  were  very  different,  at  least  in  reference  to  the  army  of 
Before  Kichmond  he  was  in  command  of  a  large  force, 
well  provisioned,  and  in  good  lighting  trim.  Here  he  had 
only  the  remains  01"  an  army,  which  the  immense  rapidity  of 
the  marches  had  scattered  all  along  the  roads,  and  not  even 
the  whole  of  this  force,  from  incompetence  or  neglect  of  or- 
ders,  was  available.  "While  General  Lee  was  fighting  at 
Sharp.d>urg,  all  Northern  Virginia  was  filled  with  stragglers, 
preying  upon  the  inhabitants;  and  if  the  Maryland  campaign 
achieved  no  more,  it  was  beyond  all  value  to  us  in  this,  that 
it  inaugurated  a  system  which  permits  to-day  no  stragglers, 
and  has  given  us  an  arm 


l.iiT.   01   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  209 

But  this  is  not  the  place  for  a  discussion  of  the  events 
which  took  place  in  Maryland;  History  will  tell  the  talc — 
our  pages  refer  only  to  one  actor.  Of  the  battle  of  Sharps- 
burg  we  pic-sent  the  following  animated  account,  taken  from 
the  letters  of  "  Personne."  This  graphic  and  generally  cor- 
rect writer  presents  the  picture  of  the  eye-witness,  and  from 
his  narrative  an  idea  may  be  obtained  of  the  desperate  char- 
acter of  the  contest : 

"  With  the  first  break  of  daylight  the  heavy  pounding  of 
the  enemy's  guns  on  their  right  announced  the  battle  begun, 
and  for  an  hour  the  sullen  booming  was  uninterrupted  by 
aught  save  their  own  eelv.es.  McClellan  had  initiated  the 
attack.  Jackson  and  Lawton,  (commanding  Swell's  division,) 
always  in  time,  had  come  rapidly  forward  during  the  night, 
and  were  in  position  on  our  extreme  left.  What  a  strange 
strength  and  confidence  we  all  felt  in  the  presence  of  that 
man,  'Stonewall'  Jackson.  Between  six  and  .even  o'clock 
the  Federals  advanced  a  large  body  of  skirmishers,  and  shortly 
after  the  main  body  of  the  enemy  was  hurled  against  the  di- 
vision of  General  Lawton.  The  tire  now  became  fearful  and. 
incessant.  What  were  at  first  tlistinct  notes,  clear  and  conse- 
cutive, merged  into  a  tumultuous  chorus  that  made  the  earth 
tremble.  The  discharge  of  musketry  sounded  upon  the  ear 
like  the  rolling  of  a  thousand  distant  drums,  and  ever  and 
anon  the  peculiar  yells  of  our  boys  told  us  of  some  advantage 
gained.  We  who  were  upon  the  centre  could  see  little  or  no- 
thing of  this  portion  of  the  battle,  but  from  the  dense  pall  of 
smoke  that  hung  above  the  scene,  we  knew  too  weii  that 
bloody  work  was  going  on. 

"The  Federals  there  outnumbered  us  three  to  one.  Their 
Deal  troops  were  concentrated  upon  this  single  effort  to  turn 
our  left,  and  for  two  hours  and  a  half  the  tide  of  battle  ebbed 
a*d  flowed  alternately  for  and  against  us.  Still  our  boys 
fought  desperately,  perhaps  as  they  never  fought  before. 
Whole  brigades  were  swept  away  before  the  iron  storm,  the 
ground  was  covered  with  the  wounded  and  dead.  E well's  old 
division,  overpowered  by  superior  numbers,  gave  back.  Hood, 
with  his  Texans,  the  18th  Georgia,  and  the  Hampton  Legion, 
rushed  into  the  gap  and  retrieved  the  loss.  Ewell's  men,  ral- 
lying  on  tins  support,  returned  to  the  fight,  and  adding 


210  ,,N 

weight  to  thai  of  the  fresh  enthusiastic  troops,  the.  enemy  in 
torn  were  driven  back.     Reinforced,  they  made  another 
perate  effort  on  the  extreme  left,  and  here,  again  was  a  repe- 
tition of  the  scenes  I  have  described.     For  a  time  they  flanked 
us,  and  our  m<  fighting  ever  every  inch  of 

and.  It  was  a  trying  hour.  The  Federals  saw"  their  ad- 
Vani  pressed  it  with    vigor.      Bight  batteries  were  in 

full  play  npon'us,  and  the  d  guns,  whistling  and 

bursting  of  3hells,  and  the  roar  of  musketry,  was  almosi 
eni 

••  At  this  juncture,  Lee  ordered  to  the  support  of  Jackson 
the  division'  I  McLaws,  which  1.  held  in  re- 

serve.    And    blessing  never  came   move  opportunely.     Our 
men  had  fought,  until  not  only  they  but  their  ammunition 
were  well  nigh  exhausted,  and  discomfiture  stared  them  in  the 
/ace.     l>ut  t/ms  encouraged*  every  man  rallied,  and  the  fight 
was  redoubled- in  its  intensity.     Splendidly  handled,  the  rein- 
on  like  a  wave,  its  blows  tailing  thick  and 
tudacious  columns  thai  had  so  stubbornly  Forced 
\  tu  the  position  on    which  wc  originally  commenced 
iie  battle.     Half  an  hour  later  and  the  enemy  were  retreat- 
ing.    Atone   point  we  pursued   for  nearly  a  mile,  and  last 
night  a  portion  of  our  troops  on  the  left  slept  on  the  Yankee 
ind.     The  success,  though  not  decisive,  as  compared  with 
our  usual  results,  was  complete  as  it  was  possible  to  make  it 
in  view  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the   battle  and  the 
topography  of  the  country.     Certain  it  is,  that  after  the  ces- 
■n  of  the  fight  at  half-past  ten,  the  Yankees  did  not  renew 
it  again  at  this  point  during  the  day.     They  had  been  de- 
feated, and  all  they  could  do  thereafto  r  was  to  prevent  us  from 
repeating  in  turn  the  experiment    which   they  had  attempted 
on  our  line,      tl  I  all  doubt*the  most  hotly  contested 

field  on  which  a  battle  has  taken  place  during  the  war. 

"  Th  Tight  Upo)  th  I  ntrc. — Soon  after  the  cessation  of 
the  fight  on  the  left,  the  enemy  made  a  strong  demonstration 
upon  our  centre,  in  '  the  division  of  G-en.  D.  H.  Hill. 

Here,  for  a  while.  pied  on  mainly  by  artille- 

ry, with  imy.and  ourselves  were  abundantly 

supplied.     The  only  ai  etween  the  two,  if  any  at  all, 

eir  metal  and  positions,  and  on  our 
part  ilic  lack  of  sufficient  ammunition  Battery  after  battery 
was  sent  to  the  rear  exhausted,  and   our  ordnance  wag 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  211 

until  late  in  the  nay.  were  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Potu- 
niae,  blocked  by  the  long  commissary  traius,  which  had  been 
ordered  forward  from  Martinsburg  and  Shepcrdstown  to  re- 
lieve the  necessities  of  the  army. 

".4.8  indicated  i;i  the  former  part  of  this  letter,  our  artillery 
was  posted  on  the  summits  of  the  line  of  hills  which  ran  from 
right  to  left  in  front  of  the  town.  That  of  the  enemy,  with 
one  exception,  was  on  the  rising  ground  at  the  base  of  the 
Blue  Ridge,  and  upon  the  various  eminences  this  side.  A 
single  Federal  battery  was  boldly  thrown  over  the  Stone 
Bridge,  on  the  Turnpike,  nine  hundred  or  a  thousand  yards 
in  our  front,  and  held  its  position  uutil  disabled,  with  a  hardi- 
hood  worthj  of  a  better  cause  I  cannot  now  name  all  the 
positions  of  the  different  batteries — only  those  which  I  saw. 
Altogether,  we  may  have  had  playing  nt.  this  time  one  hun- 
dred guns  The  enemy  having  at  least  an  equal  number,  you 
may  imagine  whal  a  horrid  couccrt  filled  the  air,  and  how  un- 
remitting was  the  hail  of  heavy  balls  and  shells,  now  tearing 
their  way  through  the  trees,  now  bursting  and  throwing  their 
murderous  fragments  on  every  3ide,  and  again  burying  them- 
selves amid  a  cloud  of  dust  in  the  earth,  always  where  they 
were  least  expected. 

*'This  exchange  of  iron  compliments  had  been  kept  up  from 
early  morning,  but  at  eleven  o'clock  the  tire  began  to  concen- 
trate and  increase  in  severity.  Columns  of  the  enemy  could 
be  distinctly  seen  across  the  Au  tie  tarn  on  the  open  ground  be- 
yond, moving  as  if  in  preparation  to  advance.  Others  were 
so  far  in  the  distance  that  you  could  recognize  them  as  troops 
only  by  the  sunlight  that  gleamed  upon  their  arms,  while  con- 
siderable numbers  were  within  cannon  shot  defiantly  flaunting 
their  flag's  in  our  faces.  At  twelve  o'clock  lhcsc«-no  from  the 
apex  of  the  turnpike  was  truly  magnificent,  and  the  eye  em- 
braced a  picture  such  as  falls  to  the  lot  of  few  men  to  look 
upon  in  this  age. 

•"  From  twenty  different  standpoints  great  volumes  of  smoke 
were  every  instant  leaping  from  the  muzzles  of  angry  guns. 
The  air  was  iilled  witli  the  white  fantastic  shapes  that  floated 
away  from  bursted  shells.  Men  were  leaping  to  and  fro,  load- 
ing, tiring  and  handling  the  artillery,  and  now  and  then  a 
hearty  yell  would  reach,  the  ear,  amid  the  tumult,  that  spoke 
of  death  or  disaster  from  some  well  aimed  ball.  Before  ua 
were  (be  enemy.     A  regiment  or  two  had  crossed  the  river, 


Bfoj  LilL   ut   SIONJuWALL   JACKSON. 

and,  running  in  squads  from  the  woods  along  its  banks,  were 
trying  to  form  a  line.  Suddenly  a  shell  falls  among  them, 
and  another  and  ■mother,  until  tlie  thousands  scatter  like  a 
swarm  of  flies,  and  disappear  in  the  woods.  A  second  time 
the  effort  is  made,  and  there  is  a  second  failure.  Then  there 
i .-■  a  diversion.  The  batteries  of  the  federals  open  afresh  ; 
their  infantry  try  another  point,  and  finally  they  succeed  in 
efrecting  a  lodgment  on  this  side.  Our  troops;  under  1>.  II. 
Mill,  meet  them,  and  a  fierce  buttle  eristics  in  the  centre. 
Backwards-,  forwards,  surging  and  swaying  like  a  ship  in  a 
storm,  the  various  columns  are  seen  in  motion.  It  is  a  hot 
place  for  us,  but  is  hotter  still  fur  the  enemy.  They  are  di- 
rectly under  our  guns,  and  we  mow  them  down  like  grass. 
The  raw  levies,  sustained  by  the  veterans  behind,  come  up  to 
the  work  well,  and  fight  for  a  short  time  with  an  excitement 
incident  to  their  novel  experiences  of  a  battle;  but  soon  a 
portion  of  their  line  gives  way  in  confusion.  Their  reserves 
come  up,  and  endeavor  to  retrieve  the  fortunes  of  the  day. 
Our  centre,  however,  stands  firm  as  adamant,  and  they  fall 
back.  Pursuit  on  our  part  is  useless,  for  il  we  drove  the 
enemy  at  all  on  the  other  side  of*  the  river,  it  would  be  against 
the  sides  of  the  mountain,  where  one  man,  fighting  for  his 
life  and  liberty,  diciplined  or  undieipliued,  would  be  equal  to 
a  dozen. 

"  Meanwhile  deadly  work  has  been  going  on  among  our 
artillery.  Whatever  they  may  have  made  others  sutler,  nearly 
all  the  companies  have  suffered  severely  themselves.  The 
great  balls  and  shells  of  the  enemy  have  been  thrown  with 
wonderful  accuracy,  and  dead  and  wounded  men,  horses,  and 
disabled  caissons  arc  visible  in  every  battery.  The  instruc- 
tions from  General  Lee,  arc  that  there  ghall  be  no  more  artil- 
lery duels.  instead,  therefore,  of  endeavoring  to  silence  the 
enemy's  guns.  Col.  Walton  directs  his  artillery  to  receive  the 
iire  of  their  antagonists  quietly,  and  deliver  their  own  against 
theJrederal  infantry.  The  wisdom  of  the  order  is  apparent 
at  every  shot,  for  with  the  overwhelming  numbers*  of  the 
enemy,  thej  might  have  defeated  as  at  the  outset,  but  for  the 
powerful  and  well  directed  adjuncts  we  possessed  in  our  heavy 
guns. 

k-  T hue  and  again  did  the  Federals  pers*eyeringly  press  close 

up  to  our  ranks,  so  near  indeed  that  their  supporting  batteries 

e  obliged  to  ceage  Bring,  lest  they  should  kill  their  own 


Ll^E   Of   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  213 

men,  but  just  as  often  were  they  driven  bapk   by   the  cum 
biued  elements  of  destruction  which  we  brought  to  bear  upou 
them.     It  was  an  hour  when  every  man  was  wanted.     The 
sharpshooters  of  the   enemy  were  picking-  off  our  principal 
officers  continually,  and  especially  those  who  made  themselves 
conspicuous  in  the  batteries      In  this  manner  tile  company  or 
Captain  Miller,  of  the  Washington  Artillery,  was  nearly  dis- • 
abled,  only  two  out  of  his  four  guns  being  fully  manned.    A^       i   « 
it  occupied  a  position  directly  under  the  eye  of  General  Long-, 
street,  and  he  saw  the  valuable  part  it  was  performing  in  de- 
fending the  centre,  that  officer  dismounted  himself  from  his 
horse,  and  assisted   by   his   Adjutant-^bncral,  Major   Sorrel,. 
Major  Fairfax,  and  General  Drayton,  worked  one  of  the  guus 
until  the  crisis  was  passed.     To  see  a  general  officer  wielding 
the  destinies  of  a  great  fight,  with  its  care  and  responsibilities 
upon  his  shoulders,  performing  the  duty  of  a  common  soldier, 
in  .the  thickest  of  the  conflict,  is  a  picture  worthy  of  the  pen- 
cil of  an  artist 

"  The  result  of  this  battle,  though  at  one  time  doubtful, 
was  fiually  decisive.  The  enemy  were  driven  across  the  river 
with  a  slaughter  that  was  terrible.  A  Federal  officer  who  was 
wounded,  aud  afterwards  taken  prisoner,  observed  to  one  o£  v' 
our  officers  that  he  could  count  almost  the  whole  of  his  regi- 
ment on  the  ground  around  him.  I  did  not  go  over  the  field, 
but  a  gentleman  who  did,  and  who  has  been  an  actor  in  all 
our  battles,  informed  me  that  he  never,  even  upon  the  bloody 
field  of  Manassas,  saw  so  many  dead  men  before.  The 
ground  was  black  with  them,  and,  according  to  his  estimate, 
the  Federals  had  lost  eight  to  our  one.  Happily,  though  our 
casualties  are  very  considerable,  most  of  them  are  in  wounds. 

"  There  now  ensued  a  silence  of  two  hours,  broken  only  by 
the  occasional  discharges  of  artillery.  It  was  a  sort  of  breath- 
ing time,  when  the  panting  combatants,  exhausted  by  the  bat-  . 
tie,  stood  silently  eyeing  each  other,  and  making  ready — the 
one  to  strike,  and  the  other  to  ward  off  another  staggering 
blow. 

"  The  Fight  on  the  Right. — It  was  now  about  3  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  but  notwithstanding  the  strange  lull  in  the 
storm,  no  one  believed  it  would  not  be  renewed  before  night. 
Intelligence  had  come  from  the  rear  that  General  A.  P.  Hill 
was  advancing  from  Harper's  Ferry  with  the  force  which 
Jackson  had  left  behind,  and  every  eye  was  turned  anxiously. 

m-  10* 


•Jli  1.1  i  J:    OF    SIOSKWALL   JAOKSuN 

:u  that  diiv.iieu.  In  ;i  little  while  We  >av,  some  oi  his  trod] 
moving  laiitiously  uuder  coyer  of  (In'  woods  and  hills  to  the 
front,  and  in  an  hour  more  hi-  was  in  a  positiou  on  the  right, 
Head  about  Hun-  o'clock  tlir  enemy  had  made  another  bold 
demonstration.  Fifteen  thousand  of  their  troops,  in  one 
mas.-,  had  charged  mir  lines,  and  after  vainly  resisting  them, 
we  were  slowly  givinp  back  before  superior  numb 
^k  "  Our  total  force  here  was  less  than  six  thousand  men,  -and 
$  had  it  n«.t  ]...vn  for  the  admirably  planted  artillery,  under  com- 
mand of  Major  Garnett.  nothing  until  the  arrival  of  rein- 
forcement <  eonld  have  prevented  an  irretrievable  defeat.  I 
know  fees  of  thjs  yWiiion  of/the  field  than  any  other,  but 
l'i\>ni  those  who  were  engaged  heard  glow-in;.:  accounts  of  the 
excellent  behavior  of  Jenkins'  brigade,  and  the  2d  and  2<>th 
Georgia,  the  latter  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Cummings. 
The  last  two  regiments  have  been  especial  subjects  of  com- 
ment, because  of  the  splendid  manner  in  which  they  succes- 
sively met  and  del'eated  seven  regiments  of  the  enemy,  who 
advanced  across  a  bridge;  and  were  endeavoring  to  secure  a 
position  on  this  side  of  the  river  They  fought  until  they 
were  nearly  cut  to  pieces,  and  then  retreated  only  because  they 
had  tired  their  last  round;  It  was  at  this  juncture  that  the 
immense  JTankce  force  crossed  the  river,  and  made  the  dash 
against  our  line,  which  well  nigh  proved- a  success.  The 
tintely  arrival  of  General  A.  IV  Hill,  however,  with  fresh 
trotps,  entirely  changed  the  fortunes  of  the  day,  aud  after  an 
ohstinaie  contest,  which  lasted  from  five  o'clock  until  dark, 
the  enemy  were  driven  into  and  across  the  river  with  great 
lost.  During  this  fight  the  Federals  had  succeeded  in  flank- 
ing and  capturing  a  battery,  belonging,  as  I  learn,  to  the 
brigade  of  General  Toombs.  Instantly  dismounting  from  his 
horse,  and  placing  himself  at  the  head  of  his  command,  the 
General,  in  his  effective'  way,  briefly  told  them  that  the  bat- 
tery must  be  retaken  if  it  cost  the  life  of  every  man  iu 
his  brigade,  and  then  ordered  them  to  follow  him.  Follow 
him  they  did  into  what  seemed  the  very  jaws  of  destruction, 
and  alter  a  short  but  fierce  struggle,  they  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  capturing  the  prise,  and  restoring  it  to  the  original 
possessors. 

"  Throughout  the  day  there  occurred  many  instances  of 
personal  valor  and  heroic  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  both  officers 
andnieo;  but  at  this  early  hour  it  is  impossible  to  gather. 


LUL    ui'   STONiiWALL   JAOKSOft  215 

from  crade  statements,  those  truthful  narratives  which  ought 
to  adorn  the  page  of  history. 

"  The  results  of  the  battle  may  be  briefly  summed  up. 
.Judged  by  all  the  rules  of  warfare,  ifrfwas  a  victory  to  our 
arms.  If  we  failed  to  rout  the  enemy,  it  was  only  because  the 
nature  of  the  ground  prevented  him  from  running.  Yv'her- 
ever  we  whipped  him.  we  cither  ;lrovc  him  against  his  i 
masses  on  the  right,  left  and  centre,  or  into  the  mountains.; 
and  against  the  latter  position  it  would  have  been  impossible 

operate  successfully.     Nowhere  did  he  gaiu  any  permanent 

vantage  over  the  Confederates.  Varying  as  may  have  becu 
the  successes  of  the  day.  they  left  us  intact,  unbroken,  and 
equal  masters  of  the  field  with  our  antagonist.  Last  night  we 
were  inclined  to  believe  that  it  was  a  drawn  battle,  and  the 
impression  generally  obtained  among'' the  men  That,  because 
I  hey  had  not  in  their  usual  style  got  the  enemy  lo  running, 
thoy  had  gained  no  advantage  ;  but  to-day  the  real  Rets  are 
coming  to  light,  and  we  feel  that- we  haw,  indeed,  achieved 
another  victory.  Twenty  thousand  additional  men. could  not, 
under  the  circumstances,  have  made  it. more  complete. 

"  We  took  few  prisoners,  not  more  than  six  or  seven  hun- 
dred in  all.  The  Federals  fought  well,  and  were  handled  in 
a  masterly  manner,  but  their  losses  have  been  immense — pro- 
bably not  less  than  twenty  thousand  killed  and  wounded. 
They  had  the  advantage  not  only  of  numbers,  but  of  a  posi- 
tiou  from  which  they  could  assume  an  offensive  or  defensive 
attitude  at  will,  besides  which  their  signal  stations  on  the 
i>lue  Uidg^lommanded  a  view  of  our  every  movement.  We 
could  not  make  a  manoeuvre  in  front  or  rear  that  was  not  in- 
stantly revealed  to  their  keen  look  outs,  and  as  soon  as  the  in- 
telligence could  be  communicated  to  their  batteries  below, 
shot  and  shell  were  launched  against  the  moving  columns. 
It  was  this  information  conveyed  by  the  little  flags  upon  the 
mountain  top  that  no  doubt  enabled  the  enemy  to  concentrate 
his  force  against  our  weakest  points,  and  counteract  the  effect 
of  whatever  similar  movements  may  have  been  attempted  by 
u^.  Our  loss  is  variously  estimated  at  from  five  to  nine  thou- 
sand. "  + 

The  above  narrative  sufficiently  describes  the  great  battle 
bf  Sharpsburg,  in  which  our  forces  contended  against  over- 
whelming odds,  but  after  the  long  and  exhausting  conflict,  re- 


216  LIFE   01    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

maim  ■!  in  possession  of*  the  field  The  enemy — great  as  were 
their  numbers — made  no  attempt  to  renew  the  conflict  ;  and 
(,,ii.  McCleUfln's  "n  his  trial,  sufficiently  sho\*  how 

the   PederflH  army  was  for  another  ^assault.     ''The 
next  morning,  VIcClellan,  "  i  found  that  our  loss   Kad 

been  .  and  there  was  so  much  disorganization  in  some 

of  tlie  commands,  that  1  did  not  consider  it  proper  to  renew 
the.  attack  tliat  day."  This  was  -the  18th,  and  during  the 
whole  of  that  day  den.  Lee  remained  drawn  up  in  lirie-of-t^ 
tie,  read}  to  renew  the  .conflict  if  the  enemy  advanced,  ili.- 
■army  has  suffered  serious  loss  however;,  reinforcements  were 
aching  the  Federal  commander;  and  Lee  deter- 
mim  the    river,  and  await  at  his  leisure  those  ad- 

ditions   to  his   own  force   which   he  expected  and   so  much 
led. 

.  on'  the   night  of  the  18th,  having  previously 

0!     ;dl  hi     trains,  ;irtill<"r\  and  stores  of  <"><  ,\  <]■■  •  rip 

'1    his  army  to  the  south  bank   of  the   Potomac, 

entirely   unmolested  ;  and,  taking  .up  a  strong   position  near 

dstown,  bade  the  enemy  defiance.     The  army  finished 

crossing  on  the  morning  of  the  19th,  and  throughout  the  day, 

a  heavy  cannonade  with  long-range  guns  was  kept    up  ■ 

the   river — Gen.   Pendleton   commanding   our  artillery.     On 

the  next  morning,  a  considerable  force  succccdexr  in  crossing, 

but  being  jjroniptlj  met  by  a  portion  oi  Jackson's  corps,  under 

A.  IV  Hill,  were  utterly  routed.     "With  no  stop  or  hesita. 

ti"ii;"    Bays   an    eye-witness,   '•  using  no  artillery,  sending  his 

nun    ,:i.  3l    "';!y,  Gen.  A .  P.  Hill  drove  the  enemy  into  and 

across  the  river,  taking  300  prisoners,  and  making  the  river 

blue  /'V/A  tin  ir  <l>  ad" 

This  engagement  was  brief,  but  one  of  the  most  deadly  of 
the  war.  Jt  stunned  the  enemy,  re-assured  our  troops,  and 
discouraged  all  future  attempts  to  disturb  them. 

When  the  army  went  into  camp  in  the  beautiful  region 
along  the  banks  of  the  Opequon,  it  did  so  with  Uncertainty 


LIFE    OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  217 

of  not  being  molested — the  enemy  bad  learned  a  lesson,  and 
.were  quiet. 

The  Maryland  campaign  had  ended  in  one  of  those  retreats 
which  ruin  an  opponent.  Gen.  Lee  had  pierced  the  enemy's 
territory  unresisted ;  had  cut  him  off  when  he  appeared,  from 
all  communication  with  Harper's  Ferry;  had  captured  that 
place,  together  with  11,000  prisoners,  and  To  pieces  of  artil- 
lery ;  had  defeated  his  enormous  forces  in  a  pitched  battle  of 
^credible  fury;  had  remained  in  line-of-battle  during  the 
whole  succeeding  day;  and  then,  determining  of  his  own  mo- 
tion, to  retire,  had  done  so  at  his  ease,  without  losing  a  wagon, 
aud  wholly  unmolested.  Such  a  retreat  after  such  successes, 
was  a  victory,  and  there  were  many  persons  at  the  North  even, 
candid  enough  to  concede  the  fact.  "  He  leaves  us,"  growled 
the  X.  Y.  Tribune,  "  the  debris  of  his  late  camps,  two  disa- 
bled pieces  of  artillery,  a  few  hundred  of  his  stragglers,  per- 
haps two  thousand  of  his  wounded,  aud  as  mauy  more  of  his 
uuburied  dead.  Not  a  sound  field-piece,  caisson,  ambulance 
or  wagon  ;  not  a  tent,  box  of  stores,  or  a  pound  of  ammuni- 
tion. He  takes  with  him  the  supplies  gathered  in  Maryland, 
and  the  rich  spoils  of  Harper's  Ferry." 

Gen.  Lee's  address  to  his  army  upon  their  return  to  Vir- 
ginia, will  appropriately  conclude  our  brief  account  of  the 
great  campaign  to  which  he  refers : 

<(  Heatmiuartkr.s  Army  Northern  Virginia,) 
October  2J,  1862.  j 

Geffcral  Orders,  Xo.  110. 

"  In  reviewing  the  achievements  of  the  army  during  the 
present  campaign,  the  Commanding  General  cannot  withhold 
the  expression  of  his  admiration  of  the  indomitable  courage 
it  has  displayed  in  battle,  and  its  cheerful  endurance  of  pri- 
vation and  hardship  on  the  march. 

"  Since  your  great  victories  around  Richmond  you  have  de- 
feated the  enemy  at  Cedar  Mountain,  expelled  him  from  the 
Rappahannock,  and,  after  a  conflict  of  three  dayp,  utterly  re- 

# 


LirJE  OJf   e>TOM£WALL  JACKSON. 

pulsed  liiin  -mi  the  Plains  of  Manassas,  and  forced  him  to  take 
shelter  within  the  fortifications  around  his  capital. 

"Without   halting  for   repose  you  crossed    the    Potomac, 
.stormed  the  heights  of  Harper's   Perry,  made  prisoners   of 
more  than  eleven  thousand  men,  and  captured  upwards  of 
cnty  pieces  of  artillery,  all  their  small  arms  and  other  muni- 
tions of  war. 

"•While  one  corps  oT  the  army  was  thus  engaged^  the  other 
insured  its  success  by  arresting  at  Boonsboro'  the  combined 
armies  of  the  enemy,  advancing  under  their  favorite  General 
tn  the  relief  of  their  beleaguered  comrades. 

4'  On  the  field  of  Sharpsburg,  with  less  than  one-third  his 
numbers,  you  resisted,  from  daylight  until  dark,  the  whole 
army  of  the  enemy,  and  repulsed  every  attack  along  his  entire 
front,  of  more  than  four  miles  in  extent. 

"  The  whole  of  the  following  day  you  stood  prepared  to  re- 
sume the  conflict  on  the  same  ground,  and  retired  next  nioru- 
ing,  without  molestation/  across  the  Potomac. 

"  Two  attempts,  subsequently  made  by  the  enemy,  to  follow 
you  across  the  river,  have  resulted  iu  his  complete  discomfi- 
ture, and  being  driven  back  with  loss. 

"  Achievements  such  as  these  demanded  much  valour  and 
patriotism.  History  records  few  examples  ot  greater  fortitude 
and  endurance  than  this  army  has  exhibited  ;  and  I  am  com- 
missioned by  the  President  to  thank  you,  in  the  name  of  the 
Confederate  States  for  the  undying  fame  you  have  won  for 
their  arms. 

"  Much  as  you  have  done,  much  more  remains  to  be  accom- 
plished. The  enemy  again  threatens  us  with  invasion,  and  to 
your  tried  valour  and  patriotism  the  country  looks  with  confi- 
dence for  deliverance  and  safety.  Your  past  exploits  give  as- 
surance that  this  confidence  is  not  misplaced. 

11.  E.  Lee, 
Ventral  Conymandmg" 

This  just  and  admirable  summary,  makes  further  comment 
upon  the  glories  of  the.  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  useless. 

These  words  have  inscribed  its  name  iu  fadeless  characters 
upon  the  eternal  tablets  of  Fame. 

0   *   *  '  f 


LlJfE   OS   bTUNKWALL   rfACKSON.  2l9 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

T  HE    A  a  M  Y    B  E  g  I  1  NO. 

General  Jackson's  corps  passed  the  beautiful  mouth  of 
October  in  the  picturesque  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah — that 
region  "which  their  great  leader  had  already  made  so  famous. 

There,  in  the  bright  October  days,  the  army  rested,  and 
recovered  its  strength  and  spirits*:  The  bracing  mountain 
breeze,  the  beautiful  skies,  the  liberty  to  engage  in  every 
species  of  fun  and  frolic,  within  the  limits  of  military  disci- 
pline, seemed  to  pour  new  life-blood  into  the  frames  of  the 
men,  exhausted  and  worn  down  by  the  immense  marches 
which  they  had  made  from  Cedar  gun  f<>  Sharpsburg,  and 
the  tojLi,  privations,  hardships  and  excitements  which  they 
had  undergone. 

Once  or- twice  only  in  all  that  time  did  the  enemy  appear — 
at  Mfu'tinsburg  and  Leetown,  on  reconnaissances.  But  Gen. 
Stuart  drove  them  back  with  cavalry  and  artillery,  and  a 
brigade  of  Gen.  Jackson's — thenceforth  they  did  not  come. 
The  gay-hearted  "  boys"  of  the  corps  returned  to  their  frolics 
and  camp  amuserneuts. 

That  region  must  have  aroused  many  memories  in  the 
hearts  of  Jackson's  men — especially  in  the  members  of  the 
" Old  Stonewall  Brigade,"  which  had  fought  the  enemy  all 
along  from  Falling  Waters  to  the  sources  of  the  Shenandoah. 
They  had  encountered  ^atterson  in  one  of  the  earliest  en- 
gagements of  the  war,  near  Martiusburg,  but  a  few,  miles 
distant — on  the  road  by  the  side  of  wdiich  they  were  now 
encamped,  they  had  retreated  before  the  huge  columns  of  the 
same  general — and  along  that  road  they  had  pressed  after 
Banks,  when,  routed  and  overthrown  at  Winchester,  he  had 
hastened  to  recross  the  Potomac.     Since  those  old  "days,  ttey 


220  LIFE   OF    STONEWALL   .JACKSON. 

had  fought  at  Cross  Keys,  Port  Republic,  Cold  Harbor,  Mal- 
vern Hill,  Cedar  Hun,  Bristow,  Manassas,  Oxhill,  Harper's 
Ferry,  Sharpsburg,  Shepherdstown  and  K<  rnevsville.  Coui- 
rade  after  comrade  had  lain  down  to  die  upon  those  bloody 
tields — face  after  face  had  "  gone  into  the  darkness,"  amid 
the  war  smoke  hovering  above  the  swamps  of  the  lowland, 
the  pines  of  Manassas,  the  Valley  of  the  Antietam.  They 
were  still  alive,  and  after  all  their  wanderings,  had  returned 
to  the  land  where  they  first  learned  the  art  of  war  under  their 
now  illustrious  chief — returned  to  it,  too,  at  a  season  when 
the  face  of  nature  is  glorious  with  that  beauty  which  seem  - 
to  reach  perfection  just  when  it  is  passing — when  the  fields 
and  forest,  with  their  tints  of  gold,  and  red,  and  yellow,  arc 
more  lovely  than  the  dreams  of  poets.  •  Here,  in  the  fine  and 
beautiful  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  on  the  banks  of  the 
OpequOQj  which  murmurs  under  its  tall  trees,  as  it  lapses 
gently  toward  the  Potomac,  did  the  weary  soldiers  of  the 
Stonewall  corps  find  rest  and  refreshment ;  and  thlrbraeiug 
air,  as  we  have,  said,  made  them  boys  again,  filling  every 
pulse  with  health  and  joy.  The  jest,  the  practical  joke,  the 
ready  laugh  passed  around  ;  and  for  a  time  the  whole  army 
of  Northern  Virginia  was  in  extravagant  spirits,  cheering'' 
upon  the  least  provocation  like  a  party  of  boys,  and  permit- 
ting no  occasion  for  indulging  in  laughter  to  escape  them. 
Wc  have  a  letter  written  by  one  of  the  corps  about  this  time, 
which  conveys  a  very  accurate  idea  of  the  manner  in  which 
Jackson's  men  amused  themselves;  and  its  careless  style  and 
homely  details  may  serve  to  interest  the  stay-at-home  reader, 
who  is  not  familiar  with  the  "goings  on"  of  an  army.  Her< 
it  is  : 

u  'Cock-a-doodle-doo-oo!'  sounded  the  'shrill  clarion'  of  a 
neighboring  hen-roost  before  day  this  morning;  a  wakeful 
soldier  caught  up  the  strain,  and  he  and  a  hundred  others 
forthwith  repeated  bogus  ccck-a-doodle-doos,  until  they  had 
effectually  ;  murdered  sleep'  throughout  the  entire  regiment. 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON.  221 

Tu  pass  the  time  till  breakfast  (!) — i.  e.,  till  some  'solid  shot 
biscuit'  and  leather  steaks  of  lean  kind  be  cooked — I  will 
'  retaliate'  on  yon  and  your  readers. 

"  The  campaigu  having  apparently  ended,  there  are  no 
moving  accidents  by  flood  or  iield  of  interest,  and  therefore, 
nothing  ltft  to  record  but  the  routine  of  daily  camp  life ;  this 
shall  be  true  to  history,  however,  to  let  Hie  old  folks  at  home 
know  how  we  live  (  sure  enough'  while  here.  At  this  par- 
ticular season,  though,  it  is  particularly  dull — 

••  No  mail,  no  pot  t, 
No  news  from  any  foreign  soasl  ; 
No  warmth,  no  cheerfulness,  no  healthful  <;'••. 

No  comfortable  feel  in  any  member, 
No  shade,  no  sunshine,  no  butterflies,  no  bees, 
November  !" 

"Our  camps  not  being  regulated  by  military  rule  for  want 
of  material  in  JMit*,  &c,  is  left  to  illustrate  'the  variegated, 
architectural  ana  domestic  tastes  of  the  thousand  different 
individuals  concerned.  Hence,  although  a  wall  tent  or  Sib- 
ley graces  au  occasional  locality,  the  most  of  the  men  en- 
sconce themselves  in  bush-built  shelters  of  various  shapes,  in 
fence-corners,  under  gum-blankets  eked  out  by  cedar-boughs, 
or  burrow  semi-sub ter r an eously,  like  Esquimaux.  If,  as  is 
said,  the  several  styles  of  architecture  took  their  origin  from 
natural  circumstances  and  climate,  &c,  as  the  curving  orien- 
tal roofs,  from  the  long  reeds  originally  in  use — the  slanting 
Egyptians  from  the  necessity  of  baking  their  unburnt  bricks 
in  the  hot  sun — the  Corinthian  from  its  own  flowery  clime, 
&c,  &c. — an  architectural  genius  might  find  enough  original 
designs  in  this  camp  to  supply  a  century  to  come. 

"  The  only  '  useful  occupation'  of  this  brigade  for  some 
time  past  has  been  to  destroy  all  the  railroads  in  reach  j  ap- 
parently, too,  for  no  better  reason  than  the  fellow  had  for  kill- 
iug  the  splendid  Anaconda  in  the  museum,  because  it  was  his 
'rule  to  kill  snakes  wherever  found.'  A  soldier  just  said, 
(  Old  .lack  intends  us  to  tear  up  all  the  railroads  in  the  State, 
and  with  no  tools  but  our  pocket  knives.'  They  have  go  far 
destroyed  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  from  Hedgesville  to  near 
Harper's  Ferry,  the  Winchester  and  Potomac  almost  entirely, 
and  now  the  Manassas  Gap  from  Piedmont  to  Strasburg. 

"  It  is  when  idle  in  camp  that  the  soldier  is  a  great  institu- 
tion, yet  one  that  must  be  seen  to  be  appreciated,     Pen  can- 


LIFU   OS   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

uut  fully  paint  the  air  of  cheerful  content,  care-hilarity,  irre- 
sponsible loungings  and  practical  spirit  of  jesting  that  '  obtains' 
ready  to  seize  ou  any  odd  circumstance  10  its  licensed  levity' 
A   '.cavalryman'  comes   rejoicing  in   immense  top  boots,  for 

which  in  fond  pride  he  had  invested  full  forty  dollars  of  i 
at  once  theory  from  an  hundred  voices  follows  him  along  tin 
line  :  *  Come  up  out  o'  them  bowls ! — come  out! — too  soon  to 
go  into  winter  quarters  1  I  know  you're  inthar! — see  your 
arms  Btickin'  ont  I*  A  bumpkin  rides  by  in  an  uncommonly 
big  hat,  and  is  frightened  at  the  shout:  'Come  down  out  o' 
that  hat!  Comedown!  'Taint  no  use  to  say  you  aint  up 
there;  I  see  your  legs  hanging  out!'  A  fancy  staff  officer 
was  horrified  at  the  irreverent  reception  of  his  nicely  twisted 
moustache — as  he  heard  from  behind  innumerable  trees — 'take 
them  mice  out  o'  yer  mouth  ! — take  'em  out ! — ho  use  to  say 
they  aint  thar — sec  their  tails  hanging  out!'  Another,  sport- 
ing immense  whiskers,  was  urged  to  '  Come  4ftt  of  that  bunch 
of  bar!  J  know  you're  in  thar!  I  see  your  ears  a  working!' 
Sometimes  a  rousing  cheer  is  heard  in  the  distance,  it  is  ex- 
plained— *  Hoys  look  out! — here  come  'old  Stonewall'  or  au 
old  hare.  '  one  or  tother' — they  being  about  the  only  indi- 
viduals who  invariably  bring  down  the  hou     . 

"And  yet  there  are  no  better  specimens  of  the  earnest, 
true  soldier,  than  the  men  of  this  brigade.  It  is  known  in 
the  army,  if  not  in  print,  as  'the  fighting  "brigade/  It  is 
now  constituted  of  the  13th,  25th,  olst,  44th,  49th,  52d  and 
58th  Virginia  regiments — the  12th  Georgia,  one  of  the  most 
gallant  regiments  in  the  service-,  having,  to  the  regret  of  all 
their  old  comrades.of  'the  mountain  brigade,'  been  transfer- 
red. The  brigade  has  beenfeepresented,  by  some  of  its  regi- 
ments, iu  nearly  every  battlefield  in  Virginia  —in  Northwest 
Virginia,  in  the  Valley,  on  the  Peninsula,  around  Richmond, 
from  Cedar  Run  to  Manassas  Plains,  at  Harper's  ferry,  and 
\,!i<  D  reduced  to  scarce  five  hundred  men,  and  surrounded  by 
overwhelming  numbers,  it  fought  a  bloody  way  clear  out 
through  the  Yankee  lines  at  Sharpsburg.  Four  of  its  Briga- 
diers have  bem  wounded  in  the  service.  Generals  Ed.  John- 
son, Ellzey,  ^tuart  and  Early.  Five  of  the  regiments  above 
named  were  united  in  one  command  under  General  Ed.  John- 
son, whose  conspicuous  bravery  at  Greenbrier,  Alleghany  and 
McDowell,  has  never  lost  its  example  upon  his  men.  The 
13th  and  49th  Virginia  have  been  since  united  wish  ii.     It  is 


LIFE   OF   8TONEWAXL  JACKSON.  223 

0 
at  present  commanded  by  Colonel  J.  A.  Walker,  of  the  13th, 
a  gallant  officer  and  courteous  gentleman,  who  has  well  de- 
served a  Brigadier's  commission. 

"  But  the  whole  day  of  camp  life  is  not  yet  described ;  the 
night  remains,  and  latterly  it^  is  no  unusual  scene,  as  the 
gloaming  gathers,  to  see  a  group  quietly  collect  beneath  the 
dusky  shadows  of  the  forest  trees — i  God's  iirst  temples/ — 
whence  soon  arise  the  notes  of  some  familiar  hymn,  awaking 
memories  of  childhood  and  of  home.  The  youthful  chap- 
lain, in  earnest  tones,  tells  his  holy  mission  ;  another  hymn  is 
heard,  and  by  the  waning  light  of  the  pine  torches  the  weird- 
like figures  of  the  grouped  soldiers  are  seen  reverently  moving 
to  the  night's  repose.  The  deep  bass  drum  beats  taps — the 
sounds  die  out  in  all  the  camps,  save  at  times  the  sweet  strains 
from  the  baud  of  the  fifth  Stonewall  regiment,  in  a  neighbor- 
ing grove,  till  they,  too,  fade  away  into  the  stilly  night,  and 
soon — 

"The  soldiers  lie  peacefully  dreaming. 

Their  tents  in  the  rays  of  the  clear  Autumn  moon, 

Or  the  light  of  the  watch  fires  are  gleaming, 
A  tremulous  sigh  as  the  gentle  night  wind 

Thro'  the  forest  leaves  slowly  is  creeping, 
While  the  stars  up  above  with  their  glittering  eyes 

Keep  guard,  for  the  army  is  sleeping." 

During  these  days  General  Jackson  had  his  headquarters 
near  Bunker's  Hjll,  and  was  pften  seen  moving  to  and  fro 
among  his  troops  on  his  old  sorrel  horse  with  the  old  uniform, 
lie  was  always  greeted  with  cheers  by  his  men,  and  the  phrase, 
"  Jiackson,  or  a  rabbit,"  became  universal  in  alluding  to  these 
gay  sounds,  heard  in  the  distance.  A  hundred  anecdotes  were 
told — a  hundred  witticisms  attributed  to  him,  Tn  .Maryland, 
where  the  ladies  crowded  around  him,  he  was  represented  as 
saying,  "  Ladies,  this  is  the  first  time  I  was  ever  surrounded;'' 
in  spite  of  which,  says  a  letter-writer,  "they  cut  every  but- 
ton off  his  coat,  commenced  on  his  pants,  and  at  one  time 
threatened  to.  leave  him  in  the  uniform  of  a  Georgia  Colonel — - 
shirt-collar  and  spurs. "  Another  incident  was  related  of  him 
by  Colonel  Ford,  a  Federal  officer,  who  conversed  with  the 
r  tl  at  Harper's  Ferry  \m 


324  Mi'L  01    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

"  While  we  were  in  conversation,''  says  Colonel  Ford,  "an 
orderly  rode  rapidly  across  the  bridge,  and  said  to  General 
Jackson,  '  I  am  ordered  by  General  SfcLaws  to  report  to  you 
that  General  McClellan  is  within  si?  miles  with  an  immense 
army.'  Jackson  took  no  notice  of  the  orderly,  apparei 
and  continued  his  conversation \  but  when  the  orderly  had 
turned  away,  Jackson  called  after  him,  %\ith  the  question, 
'  Etas  McClellan  any  baggage  train  or  drove  of  cattle?'  The 
reply  was,  that  he  had,  Jackson  remarked,  that  l<<  coiUd 
whip  mil/  army  that  was  followed  by  a  flock  of  cattle,  al- 
luding to  the  hungry  condition  of  his  men." 

These  auecdotes,  and  a  thousand  others,  were  passed  about 
from  lip  to  lip,  and  "  old  Jack — a  name  by  which  the  Gene- 
ral had  now  become  universally  known — was  immensely 
popular.  AVe  have  already  referred  to  other  and  more  solid 
grounds  of  popularity  in  his  character;  but  these  familiar 
anecdotes  of  his  dry  humor,  truthful  or  not,  had  no  small  in- 
fluence in  rendering  him  the  prime  favorite  of  his  men.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  Jaeksou  was  never  more  popular  than  after  the 
Maryland  campaign;  and  no  doubt  this  arose  in  a  great  mea- 
sure from  the  satisfaction  which  the  corps  experienced  in  hav- 
ing secured  the  really  solid  results  of  the  movement  at  Har- 
per's Terry. 

The  army  remained  in  the  Valley  of  Virgiuia,  watching  the 
movements  of  McClellan — who  was  in  frorit/of  their  position — 
until  November,  when  the  enemy  having  commenced  moving 
toward  the  Rappahannock,  the  troops  were  put  in  motion  in 
that  dircetion. 

Jackson's  corps  formed  the  rear  guard,  and  slowly  moved 
up  toward  Millwood,  parallel  with  the  Federal  advance  from 
Lcesburg.  His  measurod  and  deliberate  movements  undoubt- 
edly retarded  their  advance,  suspieious  as  they,  at  all  times 
were,  of  some  sudden  and  dangerous  blow  from  his  wellkuowu 
arm,  and  General  Lee  was  thus  allowed  ample  time  to  concen- 
trate his  forces  behind  the  Rappahannock. 

Jackson  remained  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia  until  about  the 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON'.  225 

1st  of  December,  when  the  enemy  having  developed  an  in- 
tention to  cross  at  Fredericksburg,  he  was  sent  for,  and 
speedily  appeared.  A  rapid  march  brought  him  to  the  fir- 
clad  hills  around  Fredericksburg,  and  his  corps  encamped  be- 
yond the  Massaponnax,  entirely  out  of  sight,  ready  to  take 
part  in  the  events  which  were  soon  to  follow. 


CHAPTER  XXV  I II 

FREDERICKSBURG. 

Foiled  and  driven  back  upon  every  line  of  advance — by 
Manassas,  the  Peninsula,  the  A^alley,  the  Rapidan — the  Fe- 
deral authorities  had  determined  to  try  a  new  route,  and  assail 
the  Confederate  capital  from  the  direction  of  Fredericksburg. 

General  McClellan — just  superseded  in  the  command  of  the 
army  by  General  Ambrose  Burnside — had  always  maintained 
that  this  route  was  impracticable,  but  President  Lincoln,  and 
the  new  Commander-in-Chief,  thought  differently,  and  the  at- 
tempt was  now  about  to  be  made  with  all  the  power  of  the 
Federal  Government.  4 

Burnside  moved  His  army  down  to  the  rear  of  the  Stafford 
hills,  just  opposite  Fredericksburg,  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
month  of  Xovember,  and  General  Lee  who  until  that  time 
had  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  Culpepper  Court  House, 
watching  his  opponent,  made  a  correspondent  movement,  ap- 
pearing again  in  front  of  the  Federals,  and  ready  whenever 
they  advanced  to  give  them  battle. 

The  position  occupied  by  the  Confederates  was  a  command- 
ing one,  and  there  could  be  little  doubt  of  the  result  if  the 
enemy  assailed  them  in  their  stronghold.  General  Lee  had 
disposed  his  forces  along  the  crest  of  hills  which  extends 
from  a  point  on  the  Rappahannock  just  above  the  town,  down 
to  Hamilton's  Crossing  on  the  railroad  to  Richmond,  about 


22tf  L1F*   01    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

lour  miles  below.  Here  the  crest  sinks  Buddetfly  into  a  wide 
plain,  Btretching  off  to  the  Massaponuax,  which  shuts  it  in  a 

mile  or  two  away.  In  front  of  the  hills,  occupied  by  the 
Southern  army,  a  broad  flat  reaches  to  the  river,  about  a  mile 
distant,  and  upou  this,  just  when  and  begins  to  rise, 

the  main  portion  of  the  battle  was  to  be  fought. 

I  p  to  the  Llthof  December,  no  movement  of  any  imparl 
ance  had  taken  place,  though  the  enemy  ha<l  made  numerous 
attempts  to  produce  the  impression  that  they  intended  to  cross 
below,  or  above,  not  at  Fredericksburg!  Their  troops  were 
seen  moving-  to  and  fro  on  the  Stafford  hills  opposite,  and  the 
river  bank  was  heavily  picketed  down  to  Port  Royal,  and 
above  United  States  ford. 

The  Confederate  Generals  awaited  the  threatened  move- 
ment with  confidence,  and  a  well-grounded  belief,  that  in  spite 
of  the  numbers  of  the  Federal  army,  and  the  pres<  nee  of  Buob 
men  as  Sumner,  Franklin,  Hooker  and  other-  in  command  ol 
grand  divisions,  they  would  be  able  to  repulse  any  attack. 

It  would  seem  that  the  enemy  were,  on  their  side,  equally 
confident.  The  dismissal  of  McClellan  had  been  very  dis- 
tasteful to  the  troops,  but  they  were  thoroughly  disciplined, 
and  ready  to  fight  under  anyone ;  and  the  Northern  journals, 
extensively  circulated  among  their  camps,  had  sedulously  in- 
stilled the  convictiou  that  the  "  On  to  Richmond"  movement 
was  now  certain  of  success.  They  were  the  best  troops  in 
the  Federal  service^ — led  by  the  best  Q-enerals — in  thorough 
fighting  condition,  and  the  (government  at  Washington  ap- 
pears to  have  looked  forward  to  a  "  glorious  success"  at  last, 
to  make  amends  for  all  the  failures  which  had  preceded  it. 

The  Confederate  Commander  finally  received  reliable  intel- 
ligence that  the  enemy  had  finished  their  preparations  for 
crossing,  and  were'  putting  their  troops  in  motion.  General 
Lee's  order  of  battle  had  been  determined  upon.  Long- 
street's  corps  was  to  hold  the  hills  from  the  extreme  left,  to  a 
point  mid-way  to  Hamilton's  Crossing;  here  Jackson's  left 


LIFE    Or    STONEWALL    JACKSON.  227 

would  .join  his  right,  while  the  extreme  right  would  be  pro 
tected  by  General  Stuart  with  cavalry  and  horse-artillery. 

Before  day-light,  on  the  morning  of  Thursday,  December 
11th,  the  enemy  commenced  throwing  two  pontoons  across  at 
Fredericksburg,  one  above,  the  other  below  the  destroyed 
railroad  bridge.  While  engaged  in  this  attempt,  and  swarm- 
ing upon  the  boats  like  beavers,  a  destructive  fire  was  opened 
upon  them  from  the  Southern  bank  of  the  river,  where  Briga- 
dier-General Barksdale  was  posted  with  his  Mississippians, 
and  this  fire  was  so  deadly,  that  it  "at  first  drove  the  enemy 
back.  They  quickly  renewed  the  attempt,  however,  and  pushed 
on  the  work,  in  spite  of  the  hail-storm  of  bulletsJtYom  Barks- 
dale,  whose  gallant  troops  fought  with  desperation.  The 
heavy  fog  slowly  lifted  from  the  scene,  and  then  commenced, 
and  was  kept  uj5  all  day,  one  of  the  most  terrific  bombard- 
ments known  in  history.  The  writer  of  these  pages  had  a  full 
view  of  the  entire  spectacle  from  "  Lee's  hill,"  just  to  the 
right  of  the  telegraph  road,  where  it  descends  toward  the 
town  ;  and  never  before  had  such  a  sight  greeted  him.  The 
enemy  had  planted  more  than  a  hundred  pieces  of  artillery 
on  the  hills  to  the  northern  aud  eastern  sides  of  the  town 
aud  from  an  early  hour  in  the  forenoon,  swept  the  streets 
with  roundshot,  shell,  and  case  shot — firing  frequently,  an 
hundred  guns  a  minute.  The  quick  puffs  of  smoke,  touched 
iu  the  centre  with  tongues  of  flame,  ran  incessantly  along 
the  lines  of  the  enemy's  batteries  on  .the  slopes,  and  as  the 
smoke  slowly  drifted  away,  the  bellowing  roar  came  up  in 
one  continuous  roll.  It  was  a  "symphony  of  hell,"  truly. 
The  town  was  soon  fired,  and  a  dense  cloud  of  smoke  en- 
veloped its  roofs  and  steeples.  The  white  church  spires 
still  rose  serenely  aloft,  unharmed  by  shot  or  shell,  though 
a  portion  of  one  of  them  was  torn  off.  The  smoke  was  suc- 
ceeded by  lurid  flame,  and  the  crimson  [mass  brought  to 
mind  the  pictures  of  Moscow  burning. 

This  incessant  fire  of  heavy  artillery  on  the  doomed  town 


2£8  LIFE    OF   STONEWALL   JAPRSON. 

was  kept  rip  from  day-light  until  dark.  Barksdale's  gal- 
lant tr»»ops  never  flinched,  but  held  the  place  like  heroes, 
in  Bpite  of  the  terrible  enfilading  fire  sweeping  the  street* 
with  round  Bbot,  grape  and  shell,  right  and  left.  Amid 
houses  torn  to  piece-  and  burninl,  chimneys  crashing  down 
and  burying  men  in  the  ruins,  amid  a  lire  which  might 
have  demoralized  the  finest  soldiers  in  the  world,  they  still 
held   it. 

When  nighl  descended  on  the  scene  of  this  barbarity,  the 
flames  of  1  Miming  houses  still  lit  up  the  landscape,  and  the 
roar  of  the  batteries  was  hushed,  except  a  random  gun  at  in- 
tervals, seeming  to  indicate  that  their  taste  for  bloodshed  and 
destruction  was  not  glutted. 

What  had  they  accomplished?  They  had  gained  posses- 
sion of  the  town,  which  may  or  may  not  have  been  intended, 
and  they  had  driven  out  and  slaughtered  citizens,  women  and 
children.  One  young  girl  was  shot  through  the  hip — hun- 
dreds of  ladies  aud  children  wTere  wandering,  homeless  and 
shelterless,  over  the  frozen  highway,  with  bare  feet  and  thin 
clothing,  knowing  not  where  to  find  a  place  of  refuge.  Deli- 
cately nurtured  girls,  with  slender  forms,  upon  which  no  rain 
had  ever  beat,  which  no  wind  had  ever  visited  too  roughly,, 
walked  hurriedly,  with  unsteJHy  feet,  upon  the  road,  seeking 
only  some  place  where  they  could  shelter  themselves.  "\\  nole 
families  sought  sheds  by  the  wayside,  or  made  roofs  of  fence 
rails  and  straw,  knowing  not  whither  to  fly,  or  to  what  friend 
to  have  recourse.  This  was  the  result  of  the  enemy's  bom- 
bardment. Night  had  settled  down — the'lurid  smoke,  lit  up 
by  burning  houses,  tested  on  a  torn  and  shattered  Virginia 
city,  tilled  with  Confederate  and  Yankee  bodies — that  was  the 
••  Bwpreme  result." 

Such  were  the  results  of  the  cruel  bombardment.  The 
enemy  held  the  town,  but  they  had  only  gained  possession  of 
it  at  a  frightful  loss  of  life.  Barksdale,  fighting  from  street 
to  street,  and  disputing  every  inch  of  ground,  fell  back  no 


LIFE   OP   STONEWALL  JACKSON,  229 

farther  than  the  suburbs;  and  here,  posting  himself  behind 
a  stone  fence,  held  his  ground. 

When  the  morning  of  Friday  dawned,  the  enemy  had 
thrown  across  additional  pontoons ;  and  their  atmy  was  nearly 
over.  As  yet  they  had  not  been  saluted  by  a  single  shot 
from  our  artillery;  and  they  no  doubt  felicitated  themselves, 
in  a  very  high  degree,  upon  this  circumstance.  Thus  Friday 
ended — the  night  passed — the  great  day  arrived. 

Gen.  Lee  had  disposed  his  forces  in  the  manner  already 
indicated.  Longstreet's  corps  was  posted  on  the  left,  with 
strong  batteries  along  the  hills  by  Marye's  house.  Jackson 
held  the  right,  with  Gen.  A.  P.  Hill  in  front  and  near  Ham- 
ilton's Crossing;  Gen.  Taliaferro,  commanding  Jackson's  old 
division,  in  his  rear;  and  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill,  behind  the  crest 
of  hills,  in  reserve.  On  the  slope  of  the  hill,  just  where  it 
descends  toward  the  crossing,  Col.  Liadsay  Walker  was 
posted,  with  Ingram's,  Mcintosh's,  and  sections  of  Cren- 
shaw's, Latham's  and  Johnson's  batteries — 14  guns.  On  the 
left  of  the  Iidc,  tear  the  Bernard  Cabins,  Capt.  Davidsou 
was  stationed,  with  Rains',  Caskie's,  Braxton's  and  David- 
son's batteries — 21  guns.  To  the  right,  and  two  huudred 
yards  in  advance  of  these,  Capt.  Brockenbrough  commanded 
Carpenter's,  AVooding's  and  Braxton's  batteries — 12  guns. 
On  Jackson's  left  was  the  right  of  Gen.  Longstreet  under 
Hood;  and  this  was  just  at  the  centre  of  the  whole  line. 
On  the  extreme  right,  as  we  have  said,  beyond  Haniiltpn's 
Crossing,  in  the  extensive  plain,  diversified  by  woods,  Gen. 
Stuart  had  drawn  up  his  cavalry  and  horse  artillery,  ready  to 
assist  in  repulsing  the  attack  upon  what  was  felt  to  be  the 
weakest  portion  of  our  line. 

Soon  after  daybreak,  the  troops  were  all  in  position,  and 
Gen.  Lee  rode  along  the  lines  accompanied  by  Gen.  Jackson, 
to  inspect  in  person  the  disposition  of  the  forces.     On  the  old" 
"  Richmond  road,"  leading  from  the  Crossing  to  the  Bowling- 
Green  road,  Gen.  Stuart  joined  them,  and  they  proceeded  to 
11 


230  LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

the  outer  picket  lines,  close  on   the  enemy.     The  movement 
had  already  began,  and  the  enemy  wen-  Been  advancing  M 
the  bottom  directly  upon   General   Jackson's  position 

Hod  of  On*.  Stuart.  Major  John  Pelham,of  the  Stuart 
Hoi  e  Artillery,  immediately  brought  up  r  Napoleon  gun,  and 
opened  on  their  left  Hank  ;  three  battrfries  replied,  and  for 
hours,  this  one  gunfought  them  all  with  unyielding 
firmness.  Major  Pelham  and  Captain  Heary  who  both  super 
intended  the  working  of  the  piece,  were  publicly  compli 
mented,  and  their  obstinate  stand,  in  an  important  position, 
unquestionably  had  a  most  valuable  part  in  demoralizing  the 
Federal  forces. 

Soon  after 'daylight  the  enemy  began  to  feel  our  entire  po 
■  itaon,  from  left  to  right,  with  infantry  and  artillery.  To  one 
ttho  had  witnessed  their  manner  of  proceeding,  it  was  evident 
that  the  Federal  leaders  were  wandering  in  the  dark,  and 
completely  puzzled.  There  was  no  generalship  displayed',  no 
power  of  combination  or  maneuvering.  Their  lines  were 
pushed  forward,  and  when  mowed  down  by  our  artillery  or 
musketry,'  new  ones  took  their  places,  and  the  wavering,  on- 
certain  character  of  their  movements  continued.  The  fight 
on  much  more  equal  terms  than  is  supposed — with  this 
important  difference,  that  the  enemy  very  far  outnumbered 
us,  opposing  two  or  three  to  one  at  every  point  of  attack 
Their  artillery  was  most  effectively  handled,  and  did  us  much 
damage,  as  the  casualties  in  that  arm  will  show.  The  writer 
was  present  in  this  portion  of  the  field,  and  recalls  an  in- 
stance. A  Blakely  gun  was  brought  up,  placed  in  position, 
and  opened  upon  the  enemy.  One  of  their  guns  was  instantly 
directed  to  the  point,  a  shot  crashed  among  the  cannoneers, 
and  a  boy  exclaimed,  "General,  the  very  first  shot  has  killed 
two  of  our  men  ! " 

About  10  o'clock  the  fog  lifted,  and  the  enemy  were  seen 
rapidly  approaching  in  heavy  force — at  least  55,000  troops 
being  concentrated  upon  this  important  point.     They  were 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  231 

commanded  by  Gens.  Franklin  and  Hooker,  whose  orders 
were  to  gain  possession  of  the  old  "Richmond  road,"  turn  Ike 
crest  of  hills  at  Hamilton's  Crossing,  and  assail  our  right  flank. 
Encouraged  by  the  silence  of  our  batteries,  the  enemy  pushed 
forward  directly  upon  Walker's  position,  and  were  suffered  to 
eome  within  eight  hundred  yards  before  a  gun  was  fired 
When  they  had  reached  that  point,  however,  the  fourteen 
guns  opened  suddenly  upon  them,  with  terrific  effect,  and  com- 
pletely broke  and  repulsed  them.  No  troops  could  stand  be- 
fore the  iron  storm,  tearing  through  their  ranks,  aud  Frank- 
lin could  not  immediately  reform  his  men,  and  bring  fehem 
again  to  the  assault. 

About  one  o'clock,  however,  another  attempt  was  made  to 
carry  the  position — this  tiwie  preceded  by  a  heavy  fire  of  artil 
lery  directed  against  Col.  Walker  and  Gen.  A.  P.  Hill.  Walker 
opened  all  his  batteries  in  response,  and  was  assisted  by  I 'el 
ham  on   the  right.     The  enemy's  force,  consisting  of  Frank 
lie's  and  Hooker's  grand  divisions,  were  evidently  staggered 
by  the  terrible  fire ;  but  re-forming,  pressed  on  and  closed  in 
upon  A.  P.  Hill  in  a  fierce  and  bloody  struggle.     Unfortu- 
nately, an  interval  had  been  left  between  Archer's  and  Lane's 
brigades,  and   of  this   the  enemy   took    instant   advantage 
Pressing  forward,  Hill's  line  was  penetrated;  Lane's  right  and 
Archer's  left,  turned ;  and  they  were  forced  to  fall  back,  though 
not  without  desperate  fighting.     Gaining  thus,  a  position  in 
rear  of  that  occupied  by  Lane  and  Archer,  the  enemy  attacked 
Gregg's  brigade;  and   in  this  contest  Gen.  Gregg,  while  at- 
tempting to  rally  Orr's  Rifles  which  had  giyen  way,  fell  mor- 
tally wounded. 

Seeing  that  his  first  line  was  rapidly  being  forced  back  by 
the  overwhelming  numbers  brought  against  it,  Gen.  Jackson 
now  ordered  up  his  second  line,  consisting  of  the  commands 
of  Lawton,  Early,  Trimble  and  Taliaferro.  Their  appearance 
upon  the  scene  operated  an  entire  change  immediately.  In  a 
brief  but  decisive  combat?  they  repulsed  the  enemy,  and  fob 


283  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

lotting  up  tlicir  advantage,  drove  him  with  great  -laughter  to 
the  railroad  in  front  of  the  first  position,  taking  a  number  of 
prisoners.  80  far  was  the  pursuit  carried,  that  Jackson's 
Jur.t-s  came  within  full  and  deadly  range  of  the  enemy's  artil- 
lery, and  full  upon  their  strong  reserves  of  infantry.  The 
grand  was  not  yielded,  however,  on  that  account;  and  finding 
that  the  enemy  did  not  advance,  (ion.  Jackson  determined  fao 
do  so  himself.  Their  artillery  was  so  posted  as  to  render  the 
moveBent  an  extremely  hazardous  one,  hut  the  stake  was 
great,  and  Jackson  determined  to  take  the  risks,  ana  if  possi- 
ble put  the  force  of  the  enemy  directly  opposed  to  him  to  com- 
plete rout.  Those  who  saw  him  at  that  hour,  will  never  forget 
the  expression  of  intense  but  suppressed  excitement  which 
his  face  displayed.  The  genius  *f  battle  seemed  to  have 
trained  possession  of  the  great  leader,  ordinarily  so  calm  ;  and 
his  countenance  glowed  as  from  the  glare  of  a  great  confla- 
gration. His  design  was  to  place  his- artillery  in  front,  draw 
up  the  infantry  in  rear  of  it,  and  make  the  movement  just  as 
night  decended,  so  that  if  necessary  ho  might  fall  back  under 
the  cover  of  darkness.  This  design  was  destined,  however, 
not  to  be  carried  into  execution.  Delay  occurred  in  making 
the  necessary  preparations,  and  when,  finally,  the  first  guns 
moved  forward,  the  enemy,  evidently  fearing  such  a  move- 
ment, opened  a  terrific  fire  of  artillery,  which  caused  the  aban- 
donment of  the  project. 

We  have  neglected  to  speak  of  the  events  which  occurred 
on  Gen.  Jackson's  right.  The  batteries  there  were  a  part  of 
his  command,  though  directed  by  Gen.  Stuart,  and  throughout 
the  <lay  fought  with  unyielding  obstinacy.  The  enemy  han- 
dled their  guns  with  skill  and  nerve,  but  they  were  no  match 
lor  our  cannoneers.  Their  immense  reserves  of  artillery  were 
in  vain  brought  up  and  put  into  action — they  were  encountered 
and  silenced.  The  duel  between  the  opposing  batteries  was, 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  day,  most  terrific.  Col.  Walker 
was  particularly  exposed,  from  the  position  of  his  guns,  to  the 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  233 

deadliest  fire  of  the  Federal  batteries.  The  enemy  directed 
upon  him  a  storm  of  shell  which,  bursting  incessantly  around 
and  about  him,  presented  a  spectacle  at  once  terrible  and  sub- 
lime. He  had  a  caisson  blown  up  and  many  horses  killed. 
His  loss  was  al#so  considerable,  but  the  roar  of  his  guns  never 
slackened.  Maj  :>r  Pelham  and  his  gallant  associate,  Captain 
Henry,  ably  seconded  Col.  Walker  from  the  right.  They  re- 
turned the  compliment  by  blowing  up  a  caisson  of  the  enemy, 
aud  in  spite  of  three  batteries  in  front,  and  an  enfilading  fire 
from  heavy  guns  across  the  river,  the  Napoleon  and  Blakcly 
continued  to  tear  the  opposing  ranks,  and  "  hold  their  own  " 
obstinately  against  the  almost  overpowering  weight  of  metal 
brought  to  bear  upon  them. 

Toward  evening  the  battla  at  this  point  became  desperate. 
The  enemy  seemed  to  be  fighting  with  the  madncis  of  des- 
pair, and  to  be  possessed  by  the  devil  of  carnage.  Every 
species  of  projectile  known  to  modern  warfare  was  rained  upon 
the  fields,  from  guns  of  every  character,  all  sizes,  and  in  every 
position.  Hound  shot,  spherical  case,  rifle,  Parrott — projec- 
tiles of  all  classes,  and  each  with  a  different  sound  in  its  pas- 
sage through  the  air,  showered  down.  The  enormous  strength 
of  their  artillery  arm  was  never  more  fully  displayed,  aud  they 
used  it  with  desperation.  They  had  now  turned  their  atten- 
tion more  particularly  to  our  right,  where  the  cavalry  were 
posted,  jjpd  where  they  suspected  our  weakness  in  artillery. 
The  attempt  made  to  turn  our  flank  was  vigorous,  aud  with 
troops  less  courageous  than  ours  might  have  succeeded.  Put 
it  utterly  failed.  In  vain  did  they  advance  their  guns,  and 
open  a  terrific  fire  parallel  to  the  railroad,  throwing  forward 
sharpshooters  at  the  same  moment  to  pick  off  our  cannoneers. 
Their  challenge  was  accepted,  aud  our  guns  were  ready  to 
meet  them.  Pegram's,  Latham's,  Crenshaw's,  Johnson's, 
Mcintosh's,  Braxton's,  Letcher's,  and  other  batteries,  engaged 
them  at  close  range  with  unyielding  obstinacy,  To  these/were 
ridded  the  second  and  third  ( •  jtnd.mo<id  Howttty 


_'.;  I  LIFE    Of   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

the  iir.-t  company  being  engaged  on  our  left — the  Staunton 
Artillery,  Lieutenant  G  arbor,  a  section  of  Poague's  battery, 
Lieutenant  ( Iraham,  Caskie's,  Ilardaway's,  Louisiana  Guard 
Artillery,  Captain  D'Aquin,  and  othera — all  under  the  mm* 
wand  of  Major  IVlham,  who  fought  them  with  heroic  hrin- 
and  coolness.  The  whole  of  the  artillery  on  the  right, 
including  Captain  Henry's  Horse-Artillery,  of  Major  Pelham'i 
battalion,  was  under  the  immediate  direction  of  General 
Stuart,  who  was  everywhere  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight — the 
target  of  artillery  and  sharpshooters  alike.  The  latter  had 
pasted  themselves  two  or  three  hundred  yards  off,  behind  a 
I  <  dge,  and  no  doubt  attracted  by  the  plume  and  uniform  of  I 
■  eueral  officer,  directed  their  lire  upon  him,  striking  him  twice, 
bill  not  doing  him  injury.  .Meanwhile,  the  batteries  never  for 
an  instant  relaxed  iu  their  fire.  All  through  the  afternoon 
and  into  the  night  they  continued  the  fight — those  which  were 
!i.  shied  or  out  of  ammunition  retiring,  to  be  re-placed  by 
others.  As  night  fell  the  work  was  done.  Some  of  our 
bravest  hearts  were  cold  in  death,  or  were  lying  with  the  life- 
blood  welling  from  their  glorious  wounds;  but  the  day  was 
ours.  The  enemy's  guns  slackened  fire,  retired,  and  one  after 
another  were  silenced — our  owrn  batteries  regularly  advanced, 
and  this  whole  portiou  of  our  line  was  pushed  far  toward  the 
front.  General  Stuart  had  well  redeemed  his  grim  despatch — 
that  he  was  u  going  to  crowd  them  with  artillery."  The  cere- 
mony was  too  rough  for  them  to  stand,  and  when  the  voice  of 
ihr  General  in  the  darkness  ordered  the  last  advance,  the  com- 
bat had  terminated  in  the  silence  of  the  foe. 

His  shattered  columns  had  disappeared  from  vision  witli 
l!);  advent  of  darkness,  and  now  no  reply  came  from  his  guns. 
In  vain  did  our  own  send  al'te,r  him  shot  and  sheilas  before — 
no  answering  roar  came  back.  Beaten,  driven  back,  and 
thoroughly  disheartened,  the  great  host  which  had  advanced 
in  the  morning  with  banners  flying,  and  in  all  the  "  pride, 
pomp  ami  circumstance  of  glorious  war/'  now  sneaked  away 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  235 

towards  its  pontoon  bridges,  and  gave  up  the  u  On  to  llich- 
moud"  movement  as  completely  hopeless. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  contest  on  the  Confederate  right. 
On  the  left,  Longstreet  had  repulsed  the  enemy  with  heavy 
loss;  and  recoiling  from  Marye's  Hill — from  the  brigades  of 
Cobb  and  Cooke,  and  the  batteries  of  Walton — as  from  Hill 
and  Walker  on  the  crest  to  the  right — they  had  fled,  shattered 
and  too  much  disheartened  to  renew  the  conflict.  Thus  the 
battle  had  been  in  every  wtion  of  the  field  "a  Confederate 
victory;  and  it  might  have  been  supposed  that  the  enemy 
would  have  taken  advantage  of  the  darkness  to  cross  the  river. 
For  some  unaccountable  reason,  they  did  not  do  so,  however; 
and  on  Sunday  wcrelirawn  up  directly  beneath  our  batteries, 
and  even  went  through  all  manner  of  evolutions,  apparently 
for  the  amusement  of  Gens.  Lee  and  Jackson,  who  looked  on 
in  silence  from  Walker's  Hill.  On  the  same  day  they  sent  'a 
flag  of  truce,  asking  permission  to  bury  their  dead.  As  the 
application  was  made  by  a  Major -General  only,  it  was  imme- 
diately sent  back  ;  and  not  until  Monday  did  the  paper  return 
sigucd  by  Gen.  Burnsidc's  A.  A.  Gcueral.  The  application 
was  theu  granted,  and  while  the  white  flag  was  floating  and  the 
dead  being  borne  ofl",  the  enemy  commenced  rc-crossiTig  the  rivt  r. 

On  Tuesday  morning  they  were  gone,  and  on  the  vast  plain 
only  dead  bodies  remained,  arranged  neatly  in  long  row.-, 
and — left  for  us  to  bury.  . 

We  shall  not  dwell  upon  the  events  which  succeeded  the 
great  battle  of  Fredericksburg — upon  the  howl  of  rage  and 
anguish  which  went  up  throughout  the  North — the  deposition 
n\'  Burnside — the  quarrel  among  the  Federal  generals,  and 
the  mad  resolve  of  the  bankrupt  government  at  Washington 
to  attempt  a  new  advance,  destined  in  its  turn  to  fail  as  all  the 
re|^  had  douc. 

We  have  confined  our  attention  to  Gen.  Jackson,  arid  now 
proceed  to  add,  that  having  thoroughly  performed  his  work, 
■as  be  always  did,  he  weut  into  retirement  at  Me 


236  LIFE  OP  STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

his  corps  hidden  in  the  woods  there,  and  applied  himself  I"  I 
task  for  which  he  had  never  before  found  leisure — the  prepa- 
ration of  his  official  reports. 

NoTC, — Here,  and  in  one  or  two  other  placet,  the  writer  has,  for 
the  Bftkfl  of  convenience,  used  matter  previously  contributed  by 
him  to  the  papers  of  the  day.  This  statement  18  made  to  prevent 
misconception. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

WINTER   QUARTERS    AT    MOSS    NECK. 

At  u  Moss  Neck,"  some  ten  miles  below  Frcderkksburgj 
.Jackson  rested  from  his  toils,  during  all  those  months  of  the 
winter  and  spring  of  1862-o. 

"With  his  headquarters  upon  the  crest  of  hills  which  here 
runs  along  the  right  bank  of  the  Rappahannock,  dominating 
the  wide  low  grounds,  and  affording  admirable  positions  for 
artillery,  if  the  enemy  advanced,  he  remained  for  months, 
watching  the  Jbills  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and 
ready  at  any  moment  to  hurl  his  veterans  of  the  old  corps 
upon  the  advancing  Federals.  From  the  hills  near  head- 
quarters the  view  was  very  attractive.  To  the  right  and  left 
the  wooded  range  extended  toward  Fredericksburg  on  the  one 
hand,  and  Port  Royal  on  the" other;  in  front,  the  far-stretch- 
ing low  grounds  gave  full  sweep  to  the  eye  ;  and  at  the  foot 
of  its  forest-clad  bluffs,  or  by  the  margin  of  undulating  fields, 
the  Rappahannock  calmly  flowed  toward  the  sea.  Old  man- 
sions dotted  this  beautiful  land — for  beautiful  it  was  in  spite 
of  the  dull  influences  of  winter,  with  its  fertile  meadows,  its 
picturesque  woodlands,  and  its  old  roads  skirted  by  long  rows 
of  shadowy  cedars,  planted  with  the  regularity  of  oruamerifal 
shrubbery  in  a  gentleman's  ^avdon, 

Headtjuaii  Bear  the  "Corbto  IIousgj"  in  front 

f  thut  Taylor  family  Ulusfra.. 


LIFE -Of  STONEWALL  JACKSON.  237 

ted  ia  oH  days  by  "Gotonel  John  Taylor  ,.,f  CaroKne$M  Scar 
al  band  were  the  hospitable  residences  of  the  Baylors,  Ber- 
nards and  others  j  and  in  the  distance,  toward  Frederi 
burg,  was  "St.  Julian,"  the  ancient  homestead  of  the  i;> 
family,  which  Washington,  Randolph  and  thegreat  statesmen 
of  the  past  always  paused  at  on  their  journeys,  to  give  the 
news  and  discuss  /the  men  and  things  of  the  past  century. 

Another  age  had  come  now ;  a  base*  foe  than  ever  had  in- 
vaded* tbisfair  land  \  and  the1  smiling  fields  were  disfigured 
by  the  footprints  of  war.  The  meadows  were  crossed  and  r«- 
■  ros  ted  by  roads  which  had  cut  up  the  soil  into  ruts  and  miry 
holes.  The  steep  bWks — as  the  enemy  have  had  an  oppoj 
tunity  of  seeing — were  fashioned  into  earthworks  for  sharp- 
shooters. The  beautiful  cedars  were  felled  to  supply  firewood 
tor  the  troops;  and  everything  betrayed  the  presence  of  the 
huge,  dark,  bloody,  dirty,  brutal  genius  of  battle. 

On  the  crest  of  bilk  above,  Gen.  Jackson,  as  we  have 
had* fixed  his  headquarters,  with  his  brave  troops  post.- d  tu  the 
Woods  behind,  ready  at  any  moment  to  appear  upon  the  wide 
low-grounds  and  repulse  the  enemy  if  lie  attempted  t<>  dros 
Lf  driven  from  the  line  of  the  river  road,  they  would  hate 
fallen  back  to  the  hills  crowned  with  artillery,  aud  from  thai 
position  not  all  the  power  of  the  Federal  army  could  bave 
made  them  budge  one  inch. 

G«B.  Jackson,  as  stated  above,  employed  himself  taring 
these  moments  of  leisure  in  preparing  the  official  reports  of 
li is  battles.  The  embodiment  of  the  facts,  as  given  in  thop 
reports  of  officers  engaged,  was  entrusted  to  Lieut.  Col.  Faulk- 
ner, A.  A.  Gr.,  but  (Jen.  Jackson  carefully  revised  and  cor- 
rected the  statements  before  his  official  signature  was  ap- 
pended. He  was  exceedingly  careful  not  to  have  anything 
placed  thus  «pon  formal  record  which  was  not  established  by 
irrefutable  proof.  Truth  was  with  him  the  jewel  beyoud  all 
price — and  nothing  discomposed  him  more  than  the  bare  sus- 
picion that  accuracy  war?  ^acriiicei  to  effect      He  disliked  all 

11* 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACK  WW.    , 

flowing  adjectives  in  the  narratives  of  his  battles;  and  pre- 
sented to  the  members  of  his  staff  and  all  around  him,  a  noble 
example  of  anodes  ty  and  love  of  truth.  He  seemed,  indeed, 
bo  have  a  horror  of  anything  like  ostentation,  boasting  or  self- 
laudation,  expressed  or  Implied.  Nothing  was  more  disag 
able  to  him  than  the  excessive  praises  which  reached  his  ears 
through  the  newspapers  of  the  day;  and  he  shrunk  from  the 
attempts  made  to  elevate  him  ahove  his  brother  commanders 
with  a  repugnance  which  was  obvious  to  every  one.  His  dis- 
like for  all  popular  ovations  was  extreme.  He  did  not  wish 
his  portrait  to  be  takeu,  or  his  actions  to  be  made  the  subject 
of  laudator}7'  comment  in  the  journals  or  the  day.  "When  the 
publishers  of  an  illustrated  periodical  wrote  to  him  requesting 
his  daguerreotype  and  sonic  notes  of  his  battles  for  an  engra- 
ving and  a  biographical  sketch,  he  wrote  in  reply  that  he  had 
qo  picture  of  himself  and  had  never  done  anything. 

So  oarefulfy  did  he  guard  all  the  statements  in  his  reports 
Prom  error,  and  such  was  the  rigid  censorship  which  he  estab- 
lished in  relation  to  the  most  minute  portions  of  these  narra- 
tive, that  the  official  reports  revised  and  signed  by  him,  may 
be  relied  upon  as  the  very  quintessence  of  truth,  and  histo- 
rians may  quote  them,  through  all  coming  time,  as  the  sworn 
statements  of  a  man  who  would  have  laid  down  his  very  life 
before  he  would  have  attached  his  name  to  what  was  partial, 
unfair,  or  aught  but  the  simple,  absolute  truth.  Those  bat- 
tles were  fought  as  Jackson's  reports  declare;  and  almost  the 
6le  merit  of  this  poor  record  oT  his  career  consists  in  tflis, 
thai  events  are  stated  here,  as  they  are  stated  there — with 
nothing  added  to  or  taken  from  the  record.* 


*  The  only  exceptions  to  this  statement  are  the  narratives  of 
the  Becond  battle  of  Manassas,  and  the  battles  of  Harper's  Ferry 
and  Bbarpabnrg,  The  official  report  of  the  latter  engagements  is 
:",vr"  '"  tHe  M'lH'ndix.  The  report  of  the  former  is  not  at  thi3 
time  accessible. 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  230 

These  winter  mouths  of  1862-8  were  not  entirely  passed, 
however,  in  laborious  occupations  connected  with  the  Gene- 
ral's official  position.  Many  pleasant  incidents  are  related  of 
him,  at  this  period,  which  we  could  dwell  upon  at  length,  did 
time  and  space  permit.  Those  who  visited  Moss  Neck  during 
those  days,  give  a  humorous  description  of  the  surroundings 
of  the  famous  General  Stonewall.  Before  his  tent  was  pitched, 
he  established  his  headquarters  in  a  small  out-buildiug  of  the 
Oorbiu  House;  and  all  who  came  to  transact  business  with 
Lieutenaut-Gencral  Jackson,  were  struck*  by  a  scries  of  head- 
quarter ornaments  of  the  most  unique  and  surprising  descrip- 
tion. On  the  walls  of  the  apartment  were  pictures  of  race 
horses,  well  known  and  dear  in  former  days  to  the  planters  of 
the  neighboring  region.  Then  there  was  a  portrait  of  some 
celebrated  game  cock,  ready  trimmed  and  gaffed  for  conflict 
to  the  death.  A  companion  piece  of  these,  was  the  picture 
af  a  terrier  engaged  in  furious  ouslaught  upon  an  army  of 
rats,  which  he  was  siezing,  tearing  and  shaking  to  death  as 
last  as  they  came.  These  decorations  of  headquarters,  ex- 
eited  the  merriment  of  the  General's  associates;  and  one  of 
them  suggested  to  him  that  a  drawing  of  the  apartment  should 
be  made,  with  the  race  horses,  game  cocks  and  terrier  in  bold 
relief,  the  picture  to"  be  labelled  "  View  of  the  winter-quar- 
ters of  Gen.  Stonewall  Jackson,  presenting  an  insight  into  the 
tastes  and  character  of  the  individual." 

Hearty  laughter  on  the  part  of  Gen.  Jackson  greeted  thw 
jest  from  the  distinguished  brother  soldier  who  had  stood  be- 
side him  upon  so  many  bloody  fields — whom  he  loved  and 
opened  his  whole  heart  to — and  to  whom,  when  struck  down 
by  the  fatal  ball  at  Chancellors ville,  his  mind  first  turned  as 
his  successor. 

The  children  of  the  bouse,  and  in  the  neighborhood,  will 
long  remember  the  kind  voice  and  smile  of  the  great  soldier — 
his  caresses  and  affectionate  ways.  A  new  military  cap  had 
been  sent  him  juot  before  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  which 


240  LIFE   Of   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

was   resplendent  wit li  gold  braid  and   all  manner  of  dc<ora- 
biotis.     <u'u.  Jackson  did  not  admire  this  fine  substitute  for 

that  oM,  snn-M  MR-hcd  head-covering  which  had  so  bug  served 

him;  and  when,  one  day,  a  little  girl  was  standing  at  his 
knee,  looking  up  from  her  clustering  curls  at  the  kindly  Geo 
eral,  whcee  hand  iraa  carcsHng  her  hair,  he  found  a  better  use 
f<»r  the  fine  gold  braid  around  the  cap.  He  called  for  a  pair 
of  scissors,  ripped  it  oft',  and  joining  the  ends,  placed  it  like 
a  coronet  upon  her  head,  with  smiles  and  evident  admiration 
'<('  the  pretty  picture  thus  presented. 

Another  little  girl,  in  one  of  the  hospitable  houses  of  that 
region,  told  the  present  writer  that  when  she  expressed  to  a 
gentleman  her  wish  to  kiss  (Jen.  Jackson,  and  the  gentleman 
repeated  her  words,  the  tieneral  blushed  very  much,  and 
turned  away  with  a  slight  laugh  as  if  he  was  confused. 

These  are  trifles,  let  us  agree,  good  reader  ;  but  is  it  not  a 
pleasarii  spectacle  to  sec  the  great  soldier  amid  these  kindly, 
simple  scenes — to  watch  the  stern  and  indomitable  leader, 
whose  soul  has  never  shrunk  in  the  hour  of  deadliest  peril, 
pawing  happy  moments  in  the  society  of  laughing  children  ? 

At  the  first  battle  of  Manassas,  while  Jackson's  wouud  w;i,> 
being  dressed,  some  one  said,  "  Here  comes  the  President." 
lie  threw  aside  the  surgeons,  rose  suddenly  to  his  feet,  and 
whirling  his  old  cap  around  his  head,  cried,  with  the  tire  of 
battle  in  his  eyes  : 

"Hurrah  for  the  President  !    .Give  me  ten  thousand  mm 
and  r *  11  be  in  Washington  to-night !" 

It  was  the  same  man  who  blushed  when  a  child  expressed 
her  wish  to  kiss  him. 

The  days  passed  thus  quietly  at  Moss  Neck,  the  enemy 
making  numerous  demonstrations,  but  never  crossing.  Janu- 
ary, February,  the  greater  part  of  March  went  by,  and  Jackson 
still  remained  upon  his  crest  of  hills  above  the  meadows  of 
the  Rappahannock  ;  but  late  in  March  he  moved  his  head- 
quarters to  a  point  near  Hamilton's  Crossing,  just  in  rear  of 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  241 

the  battle-field  of  Fredericksburg,  ou  the  Southern  side  of  the 
Massaponnax,  and  not  far  from  Gen.  Lee. 

The  Spring  was  now  beginning  to  advance,  and  the  season 
for  hostilities  had  returned.  Gen.  Jackson  hastened  the  pre- 
paration of  his  reports,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing 
that  at  last  they  were  nearly  complete. 

It  was  while  he  was  engaged  in  his  revision  of  the  report 
ol  the  operations  of  his  corps  in  the  Maryland  campaign,  that 
the  note  of  battle  was  again  sounded,  and  from  memories  of 
past  events,  and  the  battles  already  fought,  he  was  re-called 
to  the  present,  and  to  the  still  more  desperate  conflict  about 
fo  take  place — to  the  last,  and  what  was  to  prove  not  the 
least  splendid,  of  his  achievements.  • 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

HOOKER     ADVANCES 

Burnside,  defeated  and  disgraced,  had  been  long  since  sue 
ceeded  by  Hooker,  soon  to  join  in  his  turn  that  great  proces- 
sion of  Headless   Phantoms,  the  Yaukee  Generals,  on  their 
march  toward  the  River  of  Oblivion. 

Gen.  Hooker  had  noisily  declared  his  ability  to  defeat  the 
rebel  army  ;  had  scoffed  at  McOlellan  and  all  preceding  gene- 
rals, as  incompetent ;  and  his  shameless  self-laudation,  boast- 
ing aud  bravado,  had  reaped  from  a  congenial  government, 
their  full  reward-.  He  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
Federal  army  on  the  Rappahannock — and  the  time  had  now 
come  when  he  was  about  to  exhibit  those  great  qualification- 
which  he  had  so  long  and  persistently  claimed  for  himself. 

The  first  note  of  the  coming  conflict  was  sounded  on  the 
17th  of  March,  from  the  upper  Rappahannock.  On  that  day 
Gen,  Averill,  with  three  thousand  cavalry,  crossed  the  river 
at  Kelly's  Ford,  for  an  extensive  raid  on  the  communication? 


'1  VI  LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

of  the  army  in  the  direction  of  Goudonsville.  Hooker's  de- 
sign in  ordering  tliis  movement  was  undoubtedly  to  cut  tlo- 
Central  Railroad,  and  ascertain  as  far  as  possible,  the  strength 

.'in<l  position  of  <  ren.  Lee. 

Bad  fortune,  however,  attended  the  expedition.  The  Fede- 
ral general  was  met  near  Kelly's  Ford,  by  Gen.  Fitz.  Lee, 
with  about  eight  hundred  cavalry,  and  his  advance  so  obsti- 
nately opposed,  that,  after'a  day  of  stubborn  and  bloody  cm 
Hirt,  he  was  forced  to  fall  back,  with  heavy  loss,  and  re* cross 
the  river.  Our  own  loss  was  considerable  ;  and  among  the 
officers  killed  was  ."Major  John  Pelham — the  "  gallant  Pel- 
ham,"  of  (Jen.  Lee's  report  at  Fredericksburg — who  was  pre- 
«  nt  with  Gen.  Stuart  during  the  battle.  The  fall  of  this 
great  artillerist  was  an  irreparable  calamity,  but  the  enemy 
were  completely  cheeked  J  and  the  Southern  army  had  the 
prestige  of  victory  in  the  first  battle  of  the  spring  campaign. 

After  the  battle  of  Kcllysville,  which  for  hard  and  obsti- 
nate fighting,  has  scarcely  been  excelled  by  any  encounter  of 
the  war,"the  enemy  remained  quiet  until  April.  Toward  the 
middle  of  that  month,  everything  indicated  an  early  advance, 
on  the  part  of  the  Federal  forces.  It  was  known  that  Gen. 
Hooker  had  been  making  extraordinary  exertions  to  increase 
the  strength  of  his  army,  and  to  place  every  department  of 
the  command  upon  a  thorough  li  war  footing  " — these  labors 
were  said  to  have  secured  the  desired  result — and,  iu  the 
month  of  April,  the  Northern  journals  repeatedly  and  confi- 
dently asserted  Gen,  i  looker's  ability  to  overwhelm  Gen.  Lee 
whenever  he  advanced. 

This  spirit  of  vain-glorious  confidence  seems  to  have  been 
shared  by  Gen.  Hooker  and  the  majority  of  his  officers. 
Whether  deceived  by  spies,  wdio  communicated  false  intelli- 
gence, or  misled  by  his  own  glowing  anticipations,  which 
made  "  the  wish  the  lather  of  the  thought,"  the  Federal  com- 
mander exhibited,  in  many  ways,  the  most  unhesitating  con- 
fidence iu  bib  ability  to  defeat  Lee,  and  looked  forward  to  the 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  24: 1 

battle  about  to  take  place,  as  destined  to  annihilate  the  Con- 
federate army  and  terminate  the  war. 

The  advance  of  the  Federal  forces  was  preceded  as  usual 
by  movements  of  cavalry.  The  enemy  had  largely  increased 
their  force  in  this  branch,  and  paid  great  attention  to  its  ar- 
mament and  equipment.  The  North  had  been  ransacked  for 
horses  ;  the  best  patterns  of  carbines  and  pistols  were  fur- 
nished in  profusion;  and  great  attention  was^iven  to  the 
organization  of  the  force,  the  character  of  its  officers,  and  its 
efficiency  in  every  particular.  The  commanders  were  given 
to  understand  that  much  was  expected  of  them  ;  and  Gen. 
Pleasantou,  to  whose  command  the  whole  was  entrusted, 
seemed  anxious  to  recover  the  laurels  which  Averill  had  lost 
in  his  encounter  with  Fitz.  Lee. 

During  the  month  of  April,  persistent  attempts  were  made 
by  Plcasanton  to  penetrate  into  the  county  of  Culpepper,  and 
beat  up  General  Stuart's  quarters  there:  his  expectation 
being  to  gain  information,  and  unmask  General  Lee's  position. 
These  attempts,  however,  all  tailed.  Our  cavalry,  under  Gen. 
Stuart,  confronted  them  at  every  point,  from  United  States 
Foul,  below  the  confluence  of  the  rivers,  to  the  upper  wa- 
ters ;  whenever  they  crossed  they  were  driven  back  with  con- 
siderable slaughter;  and  up  to  the  moment  when  General 
Hooker's  army  was  put  in  motion,  it  may  be  declared  with 
truth,  that  the  enemy's  great  cavalry  force  had  proved  com- 
pletely useless  in  gaining  for  the  commanding  general  in- 
formation of  General  Lee's  movements,  position  or  designs. 

The  position  of  our  forces  did  not  materially  differ  from 
what  it  had  been  before,  and  subsequent  to  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg.  The  main  body  of  the  Southern  army  con- 
fronted the  enemy's  camps  opposite  the  town — occupyiug  the 
woods  in  rear  of  the  old  battle-field.  A  force  was  posted 
opposite  U.  S.  Ford,  higher  up  the  river  to  watch  the  ene- 
my's movements  in  that  direction  ;  and  the  various  fords  from 
to  Hiusou'L,  far- up  the  Rappahannock,  nearly  opposite 


144  LIFE   Of   STONEWALL   JAt.'KSON. 

Orleans,  w<  re  picketed  by  Stuart'*  cavalry,  which,  und<  r  th< 
supervision  of  thai  energetic  commander,  Icfl  uo  avenue  "I 
advance  unguarded.  The  exposed  lef(  flank  mm  rightly 
regarded  as  the  direction  from  which  the  enemy  would  atta<  k 
with  a. view  to  turning  Gen.  Lee's  position,  and  forcing  him 
to  f.ill  back.  Extreme  vigilance  was  accordingly  enjoined 
upon  the  cavalry  pickets;  and  no  sooner  had  tin1  Federal 
forces  put  themselves  in  motion  on  the  upper  waters  tjuin 
(len.  Stuart  telegraphed  the  fact  to  Gen.  Lee  below. 

It  would   seem   that  General  Hooker  decided  to  advance 
upon   receiving  information  that  "the  only  army  to  oppose 
him  was   one  of  forty  thousand   under   Jackson,  Lee  b< 
-irk,  and  his  army  scattered."     The  presence  of  Gen.   Long 
•  tr..t    in   Iron!    of  Suffolk   was    well    known    to  the    federal 
commander;  and  it  thus  appeared  that  the  absence  of  b  very 
considerable  portion  of  the  Confederate  force  was  the  circum- 
stance which  induced  (Jen.  J  looker,  after  all  his  boas! 
undertake  an  advance. 

All  things  were  at  last  declared  to  be  ready  :  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Federal  army  was  completed — that  is  to 
Gen.  Longstreet  was  absent — and  the  movement,  which  wa 
to  "crush  the  rebellion",  and  end  the  war  was  commenced 
A  writer  in  the  ffiew  Yak  World  newspaper,  who  criticises 
the  operations  of  ficn.  Hooker  with  great  plainness  of  .speech, 
and  apparent  truth,  says  that  the  Federal  plan  was  as  follows: 

u  A  portion  of  the  army,  about  half  of  it,  was  to  cross  the 
nver  near  Fredericksburg,  and  pretend  to  renew  the  attempt 
in  which  Burnside  had  been  previously  unsuccessful,  and  ac-' 
<  omplish  two  objects — first,  to  hold  the  enemy's  force  at  that 
point;  and  second,  to  protect  our  communications  and  sup- 
plies, while  the  other  half  of  the  army  should  make  a  cross- 
ing above  the  fortifications,  and  sweeping  down  with  the 
greatest  rapidity  to  the  rear  of  Fredericksburg,  take  a  strong 
position  and  hold  it  until  they  could  be  reinforced  by  the 
portion  of  the  army  engaged  in  makiug  the  feint  which  was 
to  withdrav/  horn  it3  position,  take  the  bridges  to  the  point  of 


LIFE   OP  STONEWALL  JACKSON.  245 

the  river  which  had  been  uncovered  by  the  flank  movement, 
and  the  whole  army  was  thus  to  be  concentrated  in  the  rear 
of  Fredericksburg." 

The  writer  thus  continues  : 

"  On  Monday,  the  26th,.  was  commenced  the  execution  of 
this  plan.  Three  corps,  the  Fifth,  Eleventh  and  Twelfth, 
were  ordered  to  march  with  eight  days'  rations,  to  Kelly's 
Ford,  near  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  railroad,  General  Slo- 
cum,  of  the  Twelfth  corps,  was  placed  in  command,  and  on 
Tuesday  night  the  force  intrusted  with  the  important  part  of 
executing  the  flank  movement  had  reached  the  point  at  which 
they  were  ordered  to  cross  the  Rappahannock.  Tuesday 
night,  also,  three  other  corps,  the  First,  Third  and  Sixth,  were 
sent  to  Franklin's  crossing,  three  miles  below  Fredericksburg, 
to  be  ready  to  undertake  the  crossing  simultaneously  with  the 
other  corps  at  Kelly's  Ford  on  Wednesday  morning.  The  en- 
emy were  evidently  not  prepared  to  resist  the  crossing  at 
either  point,  and  the  affair  was  so  well  managed  that  both  di- 
visions of  the  army  had  established  themselves  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  river  and  covered  these  bridges  without  any  se- 
rious opposition  by  the  enemy. 

Gen.  Sedgwick,  who  commanded  the  three  corps  of  the  left 
wiug,  made  no  forward  demonstration,  except  enough  to  at- 
tract the  enemy  and  prevent  them  from  turning  upon  the  de- 
tachment which  was  forcing  its  way  toward  the  rear  of  the 
enemy's  works  in  command  of  General  Stoneman.  General 
Hooker  had  personlflly  superintended  the  passage  of  the  troops 
at  Kelly's  Ford,  and  returned  while  they  pushed  on  toward 
the  Rapidan  at  Germania  Mills,  where  they  crossed  success- 
fully, and  made  some  progress  beyond  before  Wednesday 
uight." 

As  soon  as  the  designs  of  the  enemy  were  developed  in  the 
direction  of  Kelly's  Ford,  Gen.  Stuart  couccutrated  his  cavalry 
in  front  of  that  point,  and  observed  their  further  movemeuts, 
communicating  full  information  of  their  force  and  the  direc- 
tion of  their  march  to  Gen.  Lee.  lie  fell  back  as  the  Fcd- 
al  column  advanced,  and  detaching  a  portion  of  his  command 
under  Gen,  W,  H,  F.  Loo  to  oppose  the  Federal  oavalry  un- 
-iouciuawj  wl»o  >.•?■-:  [#0Ytng  i«  the  direction  of  R*pl 


-i<i  LIFE   OF   bTON«WALE   JACKSON. 

Station,  on  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad,  proceeded 
with  tlic  remainder  toward  Fredericksburg,  hanging  on  tho 
flank  of  the  enemy,  and  la  Par  as  possible  impeding  his  move- 
ments. 

The  following  account  of  tin-  subsequent  operations  of  the 
right  and  left  wings  oi  the  Federal  army,  up  to  the  night  •>! 
Friday,  April  30th,  is  taken  from  the  same  journal  quoted 
above,  and  will  throw  light  upon  the  designs  of  Gen  Hooker, 
which  by  this  time  had  been  completely  penetrated  by.  the 
cious  and  far- seeing  commander  of  the  Confederate  forces  : 

"  Thw&day. — Sedgewick  still  threatened  the  enemy,  and 
held  them  near  Fredericksburg,  while  Slocum  pressed  on  from 
the  Rapidan  and  took  his  position  across  the  plank  road,  the 
enemy's  line  of  retreat  towards  Gordousville,  at  Chancellors- 
ville.  Couch's  Second  corps,  which  had  remained  at  Banks' 
Ford,  now  moved  up  to  the  United  States  Ford,  and  crossed 
t<»  join  General  Slocum.  General  Hooker  also  re-joined,  and 
took  command  of  the  four  corps  thus  concentrated  in  the  rear 
of  Fredericksburg  and  across  the  line  of  the  enemy's  retro  it. 
It  was  now  time  for  the  detachment  to  take  the  defense  and 
hold  their  position  until  the  other  corps  should  join  them, 
and,  the  army  thus  united,  be  enabled  to  meet  all  the  forces 
which  the  enemy  might  bring  against  them.  Thursday  night 
there  was  sharp  work  on  both  sides  to  out-man coin  re  each 
oilier.  The  enemy  had  now  learned,  with  sufficient  certainty, 
that  a  large  force  was  in  their  rear  in  the  direction  of  Chan 
cellorsville,  and  that  Stoneman's  cavalry  was  greatly  endau- 
■  'Ting  their  railroad  communication,  and  they  were  moving 
accordingly  away  From  Sedgwick  toward  the  rear  of  Hooker, 
between  Chancellorsville  and  the  Rapidan,  by  the  roads  at  the 
south  of  the  plank  road,  which  was  in  our  possession.  While 
leaving  Sedgwick's  trout  the  enemy  made  unusual  demonstra- 
tions of  camp  fires,  as  if  concentrating  there,  and  similar  de- 
vices arere  resorted  toon  our  own  side.  But  neither  deceived 
the  other,  for  both  were  moving  away,  and  on  our  side  a  por- 
tiou  of  the  bridges  were  taken  up  immediately,  and  the  Third 
corps  moved  all  night  toward  the  United  States  Ford  to  join 
with  Gen  Hooker  at  Chancellorsville." 

*l  Friday* — White  the  first  and  Third  corps  were  moving 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  247 

from  the  left  wing  to  join  General  Hooker  at  Ohaucellorsvillc, 
Syke's,  of  the  Fifth  corps,  and  Williams',  of  the  Twelfth,  pushed 
ou  nearer  to  the  rear  of  Fredericksburg,  skirmishing  and 
fighting  with  the  enemy  who  showed  slight  resistance  in  that 
direction.  The  enemy  were  thus  driven  before  them  for  four 
miles,  when  Geueral  Hooker,  for  some  reason,  ordered  them 
to  fall  back  and  re-joiu  his  lines  at  Chanccllorsvillc.  By  night 
his  army  was  all  concentrated  except  the  Sixth  corps,  and 
ready  for  a  forward  movement  to  the  rear  of  Fredericksburg 
heights.  The  main  body  of  the  enemy  had  now  moved  away 
from  their  works  at  Fredericksburg,  and  were  preparing  t<» 
attack  our  army  on  the  right  in  a  direction  from  which,  if 
beaten,  they  could  successfully  retreat,  and  from  which  it  was 
hardly  expected  they  would  meet  us." 

Such  was  the  rather  bungling  strategy  by  which  General 
Hooker  expected  to  out-general  Lee;  turn  his  left  flank  ;  and 
force  him  to  fall  back  from  his  strong  position,  or  fight  at  an 
enormous  disadvantage.  Let  us  see  now  what  dispositions 
were  made  by  the  commander  thus  threatened.  Our  narra- 
tive concerns  itself  mainly,  of  course,  with  the  operations  of 
Gen.  Jackson,  the  only  corps  commander  ou  the  licld ;  aud 
we  shall  trace  his  movements  from  his  camp  upou  the  Massa- 
pouuax  to  the  disastrous  moment  when,  amid  the  dense  and 
lugubrious  shades  of  the  Wilderness  he  fell,  at  the  instant 
when  full  victory  crowned  him. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE    WILDERNESS — CU ANCELLORSVlLLE. 

The   left   wing  of  the   Federal   army,   composed   of  $hree 
grand    divisions    under    General    Sedgwick,    crossed     below 
Fredericksburg  on  Wednesday,  April  ^8th,  aud  Gen.  Jack 
son  promptly  drew  up  his  corps  in  line  of  battle  to  repel  the 
expected  attack. 

As  the  enemy  did  not  advance,  however,  cither  on  that  day 


24G  LIFE   OP   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

Of  the  next,  it  became  apparent  that  General  Sedgwick's 
orders  were  to  threaten  Fredericksburg,  while  the  main  body 
of  the  Federal  army  was  massed  above,  and  moved  down  with 
a  view  to  out-flank  General  Lee,  and  drive  him  from  his  po- 
sition. 

Jackson  was  accordingly  ordered,  on  Thursday  evening." 
to  leave  one  division  of  his  corps  in  front  of  the  enemy  at 
Fredericksburg,  and  proceed  with  the  three  others  to  the 
Tabernacle,  a  point  on  the  road  to  Chancellorsvillo,  where  he 
would  take  command  of  Anderson's  and  a  portion  of  Mc- 
Laws's  divisions,  and  "  attack  and  repulse  the  enemy." 

This  order  reached  Jackson  about  eight  o'clock  in  bbe 
evening,  and  at  mid-night  the  three  [divisions  were  on  the 
Eoad  to  Chaueellorsville  They  were  A.  P.  Hill's  division, 
commanded  by  that  General;  I).  H.  Hill's,  commanded  by 
Geo.  Kodes;  and  Trimble's,  commanded  by  Gen.  Colston. 

On  reaching  the  Tabernacle  Church  next  morning,  Ander- 
son's division  was  added  to  the  commaud  and  placed  in  front, 
two  brigades  of  McLaws's  division  being  sent  forward  on  the 
road  to  U.  S.  Ford.  The  march  was  then  resumed — Posey's 
and  Wright's  brigades,  to  which  llamseur's  was  afterwards 
added,  preceding  the  column  in  line  of-battle,  on  the  right 
and  left  of  the  road. 

The  command  proceeded  thus  until  it  approached  Chan- 
cellorsvillc, when  the  advance  became  engaged  with  the  ene- 
my, and  was  fired  upon  by  a  battery  masked  behind  the 
dense  woods,  and  completely  protected  from  attack  by  a  com- 
plicated abattis  in  front. 

Finding  the  day  far  spent,  and  having  had  no  opportunity 
of  observing  t lie  ground  or  ascertaining  the  enemy's  position, 
General  Jacksbn  ordered  a  halt,  and  employed  the  rest  of  the 
afternoon  in  getting  up  bis  command,  and  seeing  that  all 
were  in  placG  for  work  the  next  morning, 

M  nigbl   General    Let    wrrivedj  and  a  consultation  was 

hcR  :    ih;> 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  249 

utmost  promptness,  sagacity  and  generalship,  to  ensure  the 
defeat  of  the  enemy's  plans.  Whilst  Sedgwick  was  threaten- 
ing Lee's  position  below,  General  Hooker  with  the  main  body 
of  his  army  had  rapidly  advanced  to  Chancellorsville,  a  point 
on  the  Old  Plank  road,  between  Fredericksburg  and  Cicv- 
manna,  and  opposite  Ua  S.  Ford.  Here  he  had  formed  a 
double  line  of  battle,  resembling  the  two  sides  of  a  square — 
his  right  ranging  along  the  Plank  road,  nearly  east  and  west, 
his  left  extending  toward  the  river,  nearly  north  and  south — 
the  apex,  where  the  two  liues-of-battle  joined  each  other, 
being  near  the  old  Chancellor  house.  In  front  of  these  Hues 
the  dense  timber  of  the  region  had  been  felled,  so  as  to  form 
an  almost  impassable  series  of  abattis  :  in  rear  of  this  were 
elaborate  ranges  of  earthworks  for  infantry ;  and  behind,  as 
upon  either  flank — wherever,  iudeed,  a  position  could  be 
obtained — the  hills  bristled  with  artillery,  completely  protected 
by  felled  timber  from  attack. 

Humanly  speaking,  Hooker's  position  was  impregnable, 
except  with  a  frightful  loss  of  life  in  storming  it,  and  the 
design  of  assailing  him  in  front  was  speedily  abandoned. 

An  attack  upon  one  of  his  flanks  promised  better  results ; 
and  General  Jackson's  suggestion  that  he  should  move  well 
to  the  left  and  assail  the  enemy's  right  and  rear  near  the  Wil- 
derness was  speedily  assented  to  by  General  Lee.  By  this 
movement  the  elaborate  series  of  defences  thrown  up  by  the 
enemy  would  be  rendered  useless,  their  plan  of  battle  re- 
versed, and  they  would  be  compelled  to  face  to  the  rear  and 
fight,  if  they  fought  at  all,  at  a  fatal  disadvantage.     - 

Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  bent  of  Jackson's  genius 
will  easily  comprehend  the  alacrity  with  which  he  proceeded 
to  carry  out  General  Lee's  orders.  These  sudden  and  mortal 
blows  struck  at  an  enemy,  rejoicing  in  the  strength  of  his 
defences,  and  prepared  to  hurl  destruction  on  the  assailant, 
while  he  himself  is  protected,  always  possessed  an  inexpressi- 
ble charm  for  the  great  leader  who  had  delivered  so  many 


250  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

mil ;  and   General  Jackson  now  saw  %the  field  open  for  a 
apreme  exhibition  of  military  genius,  and  a  decisive  blow. 

He  knew  the  importance  of  celerity  and  secrecy  of  mo 
incut,  and  every  preparation  was  made  for  the  march  at  an 
early  hoar  on  the  succeeding  morning.  We  have  already 
quoted  his  words,  "  Mystery  !  mystery  is  the  secret  of  sne- 
' — and  on  this  occasion  no  precautions  were  omitted, 
calculated  to  mask  the  movement  from  the  enemy.  General 
Fits.  Lee's  brigade  of  cavalry  was  disposed  in  such  a  manner 
a  bo  guard  the  front  and  flanks  of  the  column  as  it  ad- 
vanced, from  the  observation  of  the  Federal  commander,  b\ 
driving  off  scouting  parties,  and  acting  as  pioneers;  and  b\ 
I  hi  and  other  precautions  General  Jackson  did  not  doubt  his 
ability  to  reach  the  point  where  he  intended  to  attack,  with- 
out having  his  design  discovered  by  the  enemy. 

lie  was  early  in  the  saddle,  and  the  march  commenced — 
the  cavalry  keeping  well  on  the  flanks  and  to  the  front.  Di- 
verging to  the  left  from  the  Plank  road,  the  command,  which 
now  consisted  of  Jackson's  three  divisious  only,  and  the 
cavalry,  moved  to  and  passed  the  point  known  as  "The  Fur- 
nace/' and  thence  proceeded  toward  the  Plank  road  from 
Ghancellorsville  to  Orange  Court  House,  crossing  it  near  its 
junction  with  the  road  leading  up  to  Germanua  Ford.  It 
was  along  this  latter  road  that  the  right  wing  of  the  enemy's 
line-of-battle  was  posted — and  to  reach  their  right  and  rear 
it  was  necessary  to  move  still  further  to  the  left.  The  inarch 
was  accordingly  continued,  the  cavalry  moving  as  well  upon 
the  flank  as  the  dense  undergrowth  which  had  given  the 
region  the  name  of  the  "Wilderness,  permitted;  and  the  head 
of  the  column,  completely  screened  from  the  enemy,  thus 
reached  the  (Jermanna  Ford  road  about  half  a  mile  east  of 
the  old  Wilderness  Post  Office. 

At  this  point,  Gen.  Fitz.  Lee  informed  Gen  Jackson  that, 
by  ascending  a  neighboring  hill,  he  could  obtain  a  view  of  the 
position  of  the  enemy,  who  would  take  him  for  a  simple  cav- 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  251 

airy  vidette,  and  pay  no  attention  to  him.  lie  accordingly 
proceeded  to  the  point  indicated,  accompanied  by  ane  or  two 
of  his  staff,  and  saw  at  a  glance  the  position  of  the  Federal 
line-of-battle.  He  turned  instantly  to  one  of  his  aids;  ail 
briefly,  "Tell  my  column  to  cross  that,  road;"  and  hastening 
back,  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  Ins  command,  and  ad 
id  without  delay  to  the  Old  Turnpike  running  to  (Mian 
eellorsville. 

The  movement  had  been  a  complete  success.     Jackson  bad 
reached  a  position  where  he  had  the   enemy  in  flank  and  re 
verse,  and  orders  were  instantly  given  to  prepare   the  troop 
fof  action.     The  order   was  promptly   obeyed,  and  the  lines 
formed.   CJen.  Kodes's  Division  was  formed  in  front;  next  eam.- 
lien.  A.  P.  Hill's,  three  hundred  yards  in  rear;  and  Colston'- 
was  drawn   up  .the  same  distance  behind  Hill.     This  dip. »m 
tion  of  the  forces  was  subsequently  changed,  however,  owing 
to  the  dense  undergrowth  which  greatly  fatigued  the  men ;  and 
Rodes  only,  advanced  in  line-of-battle,  the  two  other  division.. 
with  the  artillery  marching  in  column  along  the  road.     The 
manner  of  moving  his  artillery^  by  a  commander  so  prudent 
and  skillful  as  Gen.  Jackson,  will  more  than  all  else  serve  to 
show   the  almost   impassable  character  of  the  ground  over 
which  he  now  advanced. 

The  Old  Turnpike  ran  straight  into  the  rear  of  the  enemy. 
and  Jackson  followed  it,  extending  his  line-of-battle  well  to  the 
left — his  design  being  to  swing  round  with  his  left,  and  thus 
cut  oft'  the  enemy  from  U.  S.  Ford  and  destroy  them. 

No  intimation  of  the  steady,  inexorable  advance  of  "Jack 
son's  men"  had  yet  reached  the  doomed  Federals.  The 
movement  was  so  bold  and  unexpected,  and  had  been  accom- 
plished with  such  consummate  skill,  that  now  when  the  venge- 
ful Confederates  were  sweeping  forward,  and  had  almost  come 
into  actual  collision  with  their  foes,  their  presence  was  not. 
even  suspected,  and  \hc  fate  of  the  corps  opposed  to  them  was 
sealed.  ^ 


252  LIFE   OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

It  was  the  "  Kleveuth  Corps  "  of  the  Federal  army,  cele- 
brated in  the  Northern  journals  as  "  Seigal's  Veterans/'  be- 
fore whose  onslaught  the  Southern  troops  would  melt  away  as 
frost  before  the  flame.  It  was  now  commanded  by  Gen.  How- 
ard— and  Fate  that  day  decreed  for  it  and  him  the  unenviable 
notoriety  of  receiving  the  last  assault  of  Jackson. 

That  assault  was  sudden,  unlooked  for,  terrible.  From  the 
first  instant  it  was  a  rout — perfect,  decisive,  ignomiuious.  The 
mercenaries  who  composed  the  corps,  fled  before  the  onset  of 
their  enemies  with  a  precipitation  which  was  ludicrous. 
Whole  regiments  ran  without  firing  a  shot.  Batteries  went 
off  at  a  gallop,  ran  into  trees  and  fences^  and  were  captured 
and  turned  upon  the  enemy.  Atone  blow, Gen.  Jackson  had 
paralyzed  a  powerful  portion  of  the  Federal  force,  and  they 
were  rushing,  mad  with  terror,  upon  the  reserves.  Let  their 
own  friends  describe  the  scene.  A  writer  in  a  Northern 
journal,  says : 

"  The  flying  Germans  came  dashing  over  the  field  in  crowds, 
stampeding  and  running  as  only  men  do  run  when  convinced 
that  sure  destruction  is  awaiting  them.  I  must  confess  that 
I  have  no  ability  to  do  justice  to  the  scenes  that  followed.  It 
was  my  lot  to  be  in  the  centre  of  that  field  when  the  panic 
burst  upon  us.  May  I  never  be  a  witness  to  another  such 
scene.  On  one  hand  was  a  solid  column  of  infantry  retreat- 
ing at  double  quick  ]  on  the  other  was  a  dense  mass  of  beings 
who  were  flying  as  fast  as  their  legs  could  carry  them,  fol- 
lowed up  by  the  rebels  pouring  their  murderous  volleys  in 
upon  us,  yelling  and  hooting,  to  increase  the  confusion ;  hun- 
dreds of  cavalry  horses,  left  riderless  at  the  first  discharge, 
from  the  rebels,  dashing  frantically  about  in  all  directions; 
scores  of  batteries  flying  from  the  field  ;  battery  wagons,  am- 
bulances, horses,  men,  cannon,  caissons,  all  jumbled  and  tumbled 
together  in  one  inextricable  mass — and  the  murderous  fire  of 
the  rebels  still  pouring  in  upon  them  !  To  add  to  the  terror 
of  the  occasion  there  was  but  one  means  of  escape  from  the 
field,  and  that  through  a  little  narrow  neck  or  ravine  washed 
out  by  Scott's  creek.  Towards  this  the  confused  mass  plunged 
headlong.    For  a  moment  %it  seemed  as  if  no  power  could 


LIFE   OP   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  253 

avert  the  frightful  calamity  that  threatened  the  entire  army. 
On  came  the  panic-stricken  crowd,  terrified  artillery  riders 
spurring  and  lashing  their  horses  to  their  utmost;  ambulances 
upsetting  and  being  dashed  to  pieces  against  trees  and  stumps; 
horses  dashing  over  the  field  ;  men  flying  and  crying  with 
alarm — a  perfect  torrent  of  passion  apparently  uncontrollable. 
The  men  ran  in  all  directions.  They  all  seemed  poss< 
with  an  instinctive  idea  of  the  shortest  and  most  direct  line 
from  the  point  whence  they  started  to  (he  United  States  Mine 
Ford,  and  the  majority  of  them  did  not  stop  until  t-hey  had 
reached  the  ford.  Many  of  them,  on  reaching  the  river, 
dashed  in  and  swam  to  the  north  side,  and  are  supposed  to  be 
running  yet.  The  stampede  was  universal ;  the  disgrace 
general." 

Jackson  saw  at  a  glance  the  immense  results  to  be  achieved 
by  vigorously  following  up  this  success.  The  enemy  were 
pressed  toward  Chancellorsville,  and  A.  P.  Hill's  Division #as 
ordered  to  hasten  forward  and  take  the  place  of  Rod 
The  wood  of  this  strange  Wilderness  was  so  thick,  however, 
that  to  advance  in  linc-of-battle,  was  impracticable,  and  Gen. 
Hill's  forces  were  accordingly  disposed  in  and  on  each  side  of 
the  road,  in  the  best  manner  possible,  for  attack. 

We  now  approach  the  fatal  moment;  the  hour  of  sorrow 
and  loss  to  all  this  nation.  God  had  limited  the  great  man's 
days ;  had  decreed  that  his  career  should  here  end  ;  and  it  is 
not  without  a  sort  of  awe  that*  we  proceed  to  record,  in  a  few 
brief  sentences,  the  details  of  this  irreparable  public  calamity. 

(Jen.  Jackson  ordered  Gen.  Hill  .to  advance  with  his  di- 
vision in  the  manner  described,  reserving  his  fire  n/ilcss  cavalry 
approached  /r<>rn  the  (lir<>-ti<n\  <>/  the  enemy}  and  then  with, 
that  burning  and  intense  enthusiasm  for  conflict  which  lay  un- 
der his  calm  exterior,  hastened  forward  to  the  line  of  skir- 
mishers who  were  hotly  engaged  in  front.  Such  was  his 
ardor,  at  this  critical  moment,  and  his  anxiety  to  penetrate 
the  movements  of  the  enemy,  doubly  screened  as  they  were 
by  the  dense  forest  and  gathering  darkness,  that  he  rode  ahead 
of  his  skirmishers,  and  exposed  himself  to  a  close  and  dan- 
12 


254  LIFE   OF  STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

□  lire  from  the  enemy's  sharjrahooters,  posted  iu  the 
timber. 

:m  was  the  danger  which  he  thus  ran,  that  one  of  hi 
aid:  "General,  donM  you  think  this  is  the  wrong  place 

joxlV'  He  replied  quickly:  "The  danger  is  ajlover; 
the  enemjj  is  routed.    Go  back  and  tell  A.  P.   Hill  to  p 

,  on!"  Soon  after  giving  this  order,  General  Jackson 
turned,  and  accompanied  by  his  staff  and  escort,  rode  back  -.it 
a  trot,  on  his  well-known  "Old  Sorrel"  toward  his  own  men 
i  nhappily  in  the  darkness — it  was  now  nine  or  ten  o'clock  at 
night — the  little  body  of  horsemen  was  mistaken  for  Federal 
eavalry  charging,  and  the  regiments  on  the  right  and  left  of 
the  roau  fired  a  sudden  volley  into  them  with  the  most  lamen. 
table  results.  Capt.  Boswell  of  Gen.  Jackson's  staff  was  killed, 
and  borne  into  our  lines  by  his  horse  ;  Col.  Crutchfield,  Chief 
of  Artillery,  was  wounded;  and  two  couriers  were  killed. 
Jackson  receive  1 .  one  ball  in  his  left  arm,  two  inches 
below  the  shoulder  joint,  shattering  the  bone  and  severing  the 
chief  artery;  a  second  passed  through  the  same  arm,  between 
the  elbow  and  wrist,  making  its  exit  through  the  palm  of  the 
bund  ;  a  third  ball  entered  the  palm  of  his  right  hand,  about 
the  middle,  and  passing  through,  broke  two  of  the  bones. 

He  fell  from  his  horse,  ana  was  caught  by  Capt.  Wormley, 
to  whom  he  said,  "All  my  wounds  are  by  my  own  men." 

The  firing  was  responded  to  by  the  enemy,  who  made  a  sud- 
den advance,  and,  the  Confederates  falling  back,  their  iocs  ac- 
tually charged  over  daekson's  body,      lie  was   not  discovered, 

ver,  and  the   federals  being  driven  back  in    turn,  he  W8! 

id.  Heady  hands  placed  him  upon  a  litter,  and  he  was 
borne  to  the  rear,  amid  a  heavy  lire  from  the  enemy.  One  of 
the  litter  bearers  was  shot  down,  and  the  General  fell  from  the 
shoulders  of  the  men,  receiving  a  severe  contusion,  adding  to 
the  injury  of  the  arm  and  injuring  the  side  severely  The 
memy's  lire  of  artillery  on  the  point  was  terrible  General 
Jackson  was  left  for  five  minutes  until  the  fire  slackened,  then 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  255 

placed  in  an  ambulance  and  carried  to  the  field  hospital  at 
Wilderness  Run.  He  lost  a  large  amount  of  blood,  and  at 
one  time  told  Dr.  McGuire  he  thought  he  was  dying,  and 
would  have  bled  to  death,  but  a  tourniquet  was  immediately 
applied.  For  two  hours  he  was  nearly  pulseless  from  the 
shock.  As  he  was  being  carried  from  the  field,  frequent  en- 
quiries was  made  by  the  soldiers,  "  Who  have  you  there  ?  " 
He  told  the  Doctor,  "  Do  not  tell  the  troops  I  am  wounded." 

To  conceal  his  fall  from  the  troops  was  important ;  but  there 
was  a  more  important  point  still — the  officer  to  succeed  to  the 
command.  Gen.  Hill  had  also  been  wounded,  and  the  briga- 
diers were  inexperienced  in  such  great  commands.  General 
Jackson  immediately  expressed  a  desire  that  General  Stuart 
should  direct  the  subsequent  movements  of  his  corps  ;  and  by 
a  coincidence  of  sentiment  Gren  Rodcs,  to  whom  the  command 
fell  when  Gen.  Hill  was  wounded,  had  already  dispatched  a 
messenger  to  Stuart.  When  he  arrived,  General  Stuart  re- 
quested Major  Pendletonj  A.  A.  Gen.,  to  go  to  Gen.  Jackson 
and  ask  what  his  dispositions  and  plans  were,  as  he  "knew 
that  what  Gen.  Jackson  had  designed  was  the  very  best  that 
could  be  done."  When  this  message  was  delivered  to  the 
wounded  hero,  he  replied,  "  Go  back  to  General  Stuart  and 
tell  him  to  act  upon  his  own  judgment,  and  do  what  he  thinks 
best;  I  have  implicit  confidence  in  him."* 

General  Stuart  assumed  command  of  the  corps,  and 
busily  engaged  throughout  the  night  in  preparing  for  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  conflict  on  the  morrow.  The  battle  of  thf 
Wilderness  had  been  fought^  and  the  battle  of  Chancellors- 
ville  was  to  succeed,  though  it  is  probable  that  in  spite  of  the 
separate  scenes  and  days,  the  whole  will  hereafter  be  known 
by  the  latter  name.  The  exertions  of  Stuart  were  unceasing; 
throughout  the  night,  and  when  the  signal  for  the  advance 

*  These  details  are  given  upon  the  authority  of  Major  A.  H.  Pen- 
dleton, who  recalls  the  exact  words  used  by  General  Jackson. 


2 56  LIFE   OP   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

was  given  on  the  following  morning,  it  was  the  prelude  of 
victory. 

No  official  reports  of  these  great  battles  have  yet  been 
made,  and  in  the  absence  of  detailed  and  strictly  reliable  ac- 
counts, we  present  the  following  narrative  from  the  New  York 
World.  It  is  the  enemy  who  speaks,  and  when  he  describes 
the  Confederates  under  Stuart  "  sweeping  slowly,  but  confi- 
dently, determinedly  and  surely  through  the  clearings,"  and 
acknowledges  "  their  superiority  in  the  open  field  to  our 
men  " — that  is  the  Federals — we  cannot  attribute  these  state- 
ments to  the  partiality  of  a  Southerner,  who  feels  bound  to 
commend  his  own  people,  and  uphold  them  under  all  circula- 
tes. The  writer  speaks  first  of  the  movements  on  Satur- 
day, which  we  have  just  described  : 

u  Saturday. — General  Hooker  occupied  the  day  in  awaiting 
the  attack  of  the  enemy,  which  was  evidently  expected  in 
front.  The  movements  of  the  enemy  seemed  to  indicate  that 
they  were  retreating,  and  as  the  main  line  of  their  retreat  was 
occupied  by  our  forces,  an  attack  to  recover  that  Hue  was  con- 
fidently expected.  What  was  the  surprise,  then,  to  find 
Stonewall  Jackson,  on  Saturday  afternoon,  upon  our  extreme 
right  and  rear,  between  Chancellorsville  and  Germania  Mills  ? 
A  most  furious  and  desperate  attack  was  made,  and  the  right 
of  our  lines,  which  was  held  by  the  Eleventh  Corps,  was 
almost  instantly  broken,  and  the  panic-stricken  men,  in  utter 
confusion,  with  and  without  muskets,  hats  and  coats,  rushed 
headlong  from  under  fire  down  the  only  road  which  led  to  the 
bridges,  and  no  'power  on  earth  <-<>ul<l  have  stopped  or  ]>/•<■- 
vented  th<  convpteti  and  disgraceful  rout  of  the  soldiers  vrho 
have  hitherto  shown  better  qualities  under  their  former  com- 
mander. General  Howard  could  have  no  control  over  the 
cowardly  fugitives,  who  stopped  not  to  look  back  until  they 
reached  the  .Rappahannock.  So  disgraceful  (i  panic  has  not 
L  en  *"  n,  in  t!his  army. 

11  The  Third  Corps,  under  General  Sickles,  was  interposed 
in  the  breach  thus  made,  and  the  excellent  coolness  of  this 
officer,  with  the  better  qualities  which  his  corps  exhibited, 
saved  the  further  progress  of  the  panic  and  the  rout,  and  the 
evil  was  temporarily  stayed.    But  the  poison  was  infused ;  the 


LIFE  OP  STONEWALL  JACKSON.  257 

other  corps  had  witnessed  the  utter  confusion  aud  panic  of  one 
full  corps,  and  their  enthusiasm  was  from  that  moment 
dampened,  and  the  confidence  they  had  hitherto  felt  in  their 
success  under  General  Hooker  was  lost  in  the  reflection  that 
they  could  place  little  confidence  in  one  another, 

"  But  a  little  ground  was  lost  in  this  event,  yet  all  had  an 
ill-boding  sense  of  fear  that  our  men  would  not  prove  reliable, 
and  that  our  successes  thus  far  were  but  to  prove  fruitless  in 
the  end.  This  rout  of  the  Eleventh  (formerly  Siegel's,)  Corps 
was  the  crisis.  This  was  the  turning  point,  from  which  our 
succeeding  misfortunes  can  be  most  distinctly  traced.  Satur- 
day closed  the  operations  of  the  first  week,  with  doubtful 
prospects  of  the  final  result,  aud  the  previous  successes  of  the 
right  wing  seemed  destined  to  end  in  disaster. 

"  Sedgwick,  with  the  Sixth  Corps,  had  at  this  time,  with- 
drawn to  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  taken  up  his  bridges,  and 
replaced  them  again  directly  in  front  of  Fredericksburg,  and 
prepared  for  an  assault  on  the  morrow  of  the  Earthworks  back 
of  the  town. 

"  Sunday. — The  assault  of  General  Sedgwick  upon  the 
heights  of  Fredericksburg  was  commenced  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing. A  more  determined  and  desperate  attack  has  not  been 
made.  No  man  ever  attacked  the  fortifications  of  an  enemy 
with  more  enthusiasm  or  vigor.  The  bank  was  steep,  the  fire 
of  shut  and  shell  was  terrific,  and  the  slaughter  of  General 
Sumner's  Corps,  four  months  ago,  gave  little  promise  of  suc- 
cess. To  almost  certain  death  the  men  charged  up  and  car- 
ried the  works,  drove  the  artilleryists  from  their  guns,  captured 
twelve  pieces  of  the  best  and  heaviest  artillery,  and  many 
prisoners  of  war  in  their  trenches.  With  the  heaviest  losses, 
Sedgwick  followed  up  his  success  with  the  boldest  energy, 
and  pursued  the  enemy  toward  Chancellorsville  with  the  pur- 
of.  uniting  with  General  Hooker  at  that  place. 

"  But  this  brilliant  success  came  too  late,  for  the  enemy 
held  the  plank  road  which  the  rout  of  the  Eleventh  Corps 
had  yielded  to  them  on  the  previous  night,  and  the  enemy 
was  enabled  to  throw  any  sufficient  force  against  him  to  pre- 
vent his  junction  with  Hooker.  This  was  speedily  done,  and 
soon  Sedgwick's  fine  Corps,  the  largest  and  perhaps  the  best 
of  the  army,  was  cut  off  from  communication  either  with 
Hooker  or  with  Fredericksburg,  and,  thus  isolated,  was 


238  LIFE  OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

bridges  had  been  thrown  over,  by  which,  if  severely  pressed, 
h«  could  make  safe  his  retreat  across  the  Rappahannock 
again.  Thus  followed  misfortune  on  misfortune,  not  for  lack 
of  skill  or  bravery,  but  for  the  conduct  of  the  miscreants  who 
had  fled  from  their  position  on  the  previous  night  almost  upon 
the  first  attack  of  the  enemy. 

"  But  another  repulse  was  sustained  on  Suuday  morning 
by  the  army  near  Chaucellorsville.  The  enemy  renewed 
the  attack  and  again  drove  back  our  lines  for  half  a  mile. 
Frond  the  large  brick  house,  which  gives  the  name  to  this  vi- 
cinity, the  enemy  could  be  seen  sweeping  slowly,  but  confi- 
dently, determinedly,  and  surely,  through  the  clearings  which 
extended  in  front.  Nothing  could  excite  more  admiration  for 
the  best  qualities  of  the  veteran  soldier  than  the  manner  in 
which  the  enemy  swept  out,  as  they  moved  steadily  onward, 
the  forces  which  were  opposed  to  them.  We  say  it  reluc- 
tantly, and  for  the  first  time,  that  the  enemy  have  showed  the 
finest  qualities,  and  we  acknowledge,  on  this  occasion,  their 
viority  in  the  open  field  to  our  own  men. 

"  They  delivered  their  fire  with  precision,  and  were  appa- 
rently inflexible  and  immovable  under  the  storm  of  bullets 
and  shell  which  they  were  constantly  receiving.  Coming  to 
a  pieco  of  timber,  which  was  occupied  by  a  division  of  our 
own  men,  half  the  number  were  detailed  to  clear  the  woods. 
It  seemed  certain  that  here  they  would  be  repulsed,  but  they 
marched  right  through  the  wood,  driving  our  own  soldiers 
out,  who  delivered  their  fire  and  fell  back,  halted  again,  fired 
and  fell  back  as  before,  seeming  to  concede  to  the  enemy,  as 
a  matter  of  course,  the  superiority  which  they  evidently  felt 
themselves.  Our  own  men  fought  well.  There  was  no  lack 
of  courage,  but,  an  evident  feeling,  apparently  the  result  of 
having  been  so  often  whipped,  or  of  having  witnessed  the 
rout  on  the  night  previous,  that  they  were  destined  to  be 
beaten,  and  the  only  thing  for  them  to  do  was  to  fire  and  re- 
treat. The  enemy  lilt  confident  that  they  were  to  be  victo- 
rious, and  our  men  had,  from  some  occasion,  imbibed  the  same 
impression.  Our  men  showed  lack  of  earnestness  and  en- 
thusiasm, but  no  want  of  courage.  All  that  they  needed  was 
the  inspiration  of  a  series  of  victories  to  look  back  upon,  and 
an  earnestness  and  confidence  in  the  success  of  the  cause  for 
which  they  were  fighting.  Thus  ended  the  Sabbath  and 
another  chapter  in  the  series  of  our  disasters. 


LIFE   OF  STONEWALL  JACKSON.  259 

u  Monday. — Another  day  of  misfortune;  and  the  day  was 

hardly  ushered  in  before  the  enemy  in  force  came  down  upon 
the  detachments  which  had  been  thought  sufficient  to  hold 
the  works  upon  the  heights  of  Fredericksburg.  First  a  bri- 
gade, then  a  division,  then  a. larger  force  came  in  upon  them, 
and,  after  strongly  contesting  the  position,  they  were  com- 
pelled to  yield  and  fall  back  under  the  protection  of  the  town. 
The  enemy  formed  their  line-of-battlc  on  the  outskirts,  and 
within  the  town  the  two  brigades  of  General  Gibbon  held 
them  in  check  as  long  as  could  be.  Many  wounded  men 
were  here  in  the  hospitals,  and  the  position  was  maintained 
as  long  as  possible.  At  length  the  ground  was  given  up,  the 
troops  were  withdrawn,  the  bridges  taken  up,  and  Frede- 
ricksburg was  given  back  to  the  enemy. 

"They  were  now  at  liberty  to  turn  their  attention  to  Sedg- 
wick, and  they  lost  no  time  in  concentrating  their  forces 
against  him.     They  were  too  strong  for  him. 

"  After  a  most  obstinate  light,  in  which  the  enemy  almost 
were  successful  in  destroying  his  bridges,  and  the  possibility 
of  his  escape,  he  made  good  his  retreat  also  to  the  east  bank 
of  the  Rappahannock;  His  losses  were  appalling.  He  suf- 
fered terribly,  and  in  their  retreat  there  was  much  confusion 
and  disorder  among  the  troops.  A  few  at  the  first  onset  laid 
down  their  arms  and  yielded  themselves  up  prisoners  without 
firing  a  musket,  but  generally  the  men  of  this  corps  displayed 
the  greatest  gallantry  in  fighting,  and  only  yielded  when 
overpowered  by  superior  numbers.  • 

"  Tuesday. — By  this  time  the  aspect  of  affairs  had  become 
exceedingly  dark.  The  troops  were  much  dispirited,  and  al- 
though they  had  held  their  position  on  Monday,  the  prospect 
of  meeting  the  combined  forces  of  the  enemy  with  large  rein- 
forcements, which  they  wrere  known  to  have  received,  Wi  - 
exceedingly  unpromising.  A  severe  storm  appeared  also  on 
Tuesday  afternoon,  swelling  the  Rappahannock  to  a  torrent, 
and  threatening  to  carry  away  the  bridges.  Tuesday  night, 
the  army  of  the  Kappahannock  was  withdrawn,  and  our  en- 
tire force  brought  again  to  this  side  of  the  river,  with  the 
exception  of  mauy  dead  and  wounded,  who  were  left  behind 
to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  enemy." 

^uch  is  the  history  of  the  battle  of  Chaucellorsville  given 
in  a  Northern  journal.     Let  us  conclude  with  the  comment 


260  LIFE  OP   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

of  the  editor  of  that  journal — the  New  York  World.  It  is 
a  morsel  which  should  not  be  lost ;  and  we  rescue  it  from  the 
oblivion  of  newspaper  literature  for  the  benefit  of  the  future 
historians  of  this  epoch*      Here  is  the  criticism  : 

"In  view  of  the  pleasing  delusions  whiph  the  administra- 
tion is  now  endeavoring  to  propagate,  it  would  be  well,  per- 
haps, to  outline  sonic  of  the  leading  facts  in  this  short  cam- 
paign, from  which  the  reader  can  draw  his  own  moral: 

••  1.  It  is  not  true  that  Lee  was  surprised  or  deceived  by 
Hooker's  movement  across  the  Kappahannock.  From  the 
Kichniond  papers  of  last  Saturday  it  is  clear  that  the  Con- 
federate military  leaders  understood  it  perfectly,  and  delibe- 
rately allowed  our  army  to  cross,  confident  of  their  ability  to 
defeat,  if  not  destroy  it.  Forney,  in  the  Philadelphia  fVess, 
states  that  Hooker  was  induced  to  cross  by  the  assurances  of 
hi-  >pies  and  scouts  that  the  only  army  to  oppose  him  was  one 
of  forty  thousand  "under  Jackson,  Lee  being  sick  and  his 
army  scattered.  The  Baltimore  secessionists  had  the  same 
report,  and  believed  it.  Gen.  Hooker,  therefore,  at  the  very 
start,  was  the  deceived  party,  and  walked  straight  into  the 
trap  prepared  for  him. 

"  2.  The  great  cavalry  raid,  which  was  an  entire  success, 
did  Gen.  Hooker  no  good,  because  it  did  not  precede,  instead 
of  accompanying  his  movements.  Lee's  re-inforcernents  had 
all  arrived  before  the  destruction  of  the  railroads  and  bridges. 
To  him  this  is  now  only  a  temporary  inconvenience.  Had 
Hooker  retained  his  cavalry  with  his  army,  it  would  have 
been  far  better  for  him.  He  could  have  captured  several' 
thousand  more  prisoners  when  Fredericksburg  was  taken,  ami, 
more  than  all,  could  have  prevented  Jackson's  surprise  of  his 
flank  and  rear.  They  might  have  changed  the  complexion  of 
the  fight. 

"Gen.  Hooker's  division  of  his  army  was  as  disastrous  iu 
this  instance,  as  have  been  .ill  such  informer  military  history. 
It  is  known  that  Gen.  Ilalleck  utterly  disapproved  of  this 
dispersion  of  the  Union  forces,  and  the  result  proved  that  in 
this  case,  at  least,  he  was  right,  If  Lee  had  furnished  Hooker 
with  a  plan,  it  could  not  have  been  more  to  his  liking.     He 

ipon   Hooker  und  beat  him;  thia 

:   re- 


LIFE  OP  STONEWALL  JACKSON.  261 

across  the  river,  with  the  loss  of  one-third  of  his  force.  Thus 
Lee,  with  one  great  army,  beat  two  smaller  armies  in  detail. 

"4.  The  battles  of  Saturday  and  Sunday  were  indisputable 
rebel  victories,  as  the  enemy's  attack  upon  Sedgwick  on  Mon- 
day proved.  The  latter  was  defeated  almost  before  Hooker's 
eyes,  and  the  latter  could  not  even  make  a  diversion  to  save 
him.  Lee  and  Jackson  drove  our  army  steadily  from  point  to 
point  until  it  was  crowded  back  upon  the  south  bank  of  the 
river.  Our  artillery,  which,  according  to  the  rebel  accounts, 
was  splendidly  served,  no  doubt'  saved  what  remained  of  the 
army. 

"  5.  The  retreat  across  the  river,  according  to  Lee's  des- 
patch to  JefT.  Davis,  commenced  on  Sunday,  night,  and  was  in 
consequence  of  his  signal  victory.  The  administration's 
statement  is  that  it  was  commenced  on  Tuesday  night,  simply 
as  a  matter  of  precaution  on  account  of  the  storm  and  the 
rising  stream.  Lee's  account  has  all  the  known  facts  and  the 
probabilities  on  its  side.  The  Union  correspondents  all  agree 
that  the  stores  and  baggage  were  moved  to  the  north  bank  on 
Monday,  leaving  nothing  but  the  artillety  and  infantry  to 
cross  ou  Tuesday.  The  fierce  storm  of  that  day  probably 
aved  the  bulk  of  our  army,  which  was  passed  over  at  night. 

"  6.  Gen.  Hooker's  statement  of  his  losses  reads  as  if  it 
was  made  by  Gen.  "Wadsworth.  He  says  his  total  loss  in 
killed,  wounded  and  missing  will  not  be  more  than  ten  thou- 
sand men.  If  this  be  true,  there  are  several  circumstances 
that  need  explaining  badly.  Gen.  Sedgwick  alone,  all  the  ac- 
counts agree,  lost  one-third  his  force,  or  about  six  thousand 
men ;  but  call  it  five  thousand.  The  capture  of  Fredericks- 
burg, and  the  storming  of  the  heights  in  its  rea"r  on  Suuday, 
lost  us  eight  hundred  men  in  killed  and  wounded.  This 
would  leave  but  little  over  four  thousand  to  have  been  killed, 
wounded  and  captured  in  the  tremendous  battles  of  Saturday 
and  Sunday,  when,  at  the  very  least,  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  men  met  in  deadly  conflict.  If  Hooker  and  Lee 
commanded  Chinese  armies,  this  might  have  been  possible ; 
but  as  they  were  Americans  on  both  sides,  it  is  simply  in- 
credible. The  rout  of  the  Eleventh  corps,  and  the  driving 
back  of  our  whole  lines  for  two  days  in  succession,  must  have 
cost  us — we  will  not  say  how  many  men,  but  certainly  more 
than  four  thousand.  Judged  by  the  other  battles  of  the  war, 
this  fight  ought  to  have  put  twenty-five  thousand  men  Jwrs 

12* 


262  LIFE   OP  STONEWALL  JACKSON 


■a    r 


Gri  d.  : !  be  right  in  his  estimate,  hut 

the  fighthij  i  Jul. 

•  the  then  ainfofto  dwell   upon.     The  whole 

mane                P  the  o«*  a  painful  lack   both  of 
and  true  cour;:v 

Our  rulers  arc  alike  ineapible  and  unvei 

Such  was  the  epitaph  •  ker  ! 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

\  ;.  l    B  I  G  :: 

All  day  long  on  Sunday,  while  the  great  <  onflict  was  i 
ing  around  (fhancellorsviMe,  Jackson  lay  at  Wilderness  Run 
Paint,  motionless,  but  thrilling  at  frhis  sound  so  long  familiar 
to  his  • 

Nfev<  r  1  I  the  f'amoi  mpelled  to  re- 

tire from  the  field — for  at  MS  hough  wounded,  he  still 

ined  the  command  of  his  brigade;  and  itmusthave  stirr<  1 
his  fiery  soul  to  its  very  depth;-;  to  find  himself  thus  prosl 

>owerless  as  an  infant  while  the  great  battle,  big  with  weal 
•r  his  beloved  country,  was  being  fought  a  few  mile.- 
rat  from  the  couch  on  which  he  l! 

il    the^  was  no  choice  left  him,     The  fatal   halls   had 
torn   through,   flesh,  and  muscle,   and   artery,      [lis    tifc 

i  then  ebbing  away;  and  he  buiit  his  spirit 

humbly  to'the  decree  of  that  merciful  Cod  who  had  never 
rted  him,  and  to  whom  he  bowed  with  simple,  <  hidlike 
humility. 

He  had  li  h  blood  before  a  surgeon  could  be  found 

in  the  confusion  and  darkness,  that  he  was  for  a  long  time 
nearly  pui  ion  finally  took  place ;  he  revived  ; 

and  a  th<  tmiiation  wae  made  of  Hie  nature  and  ex- 

.     They  Merc  found  to  be  very  serious, and 
the  result  of  a  consultation  between  Drs.  McG-uire,  Black, 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  263 

'  iolenian  and  .Walls,  was  that  amputation  of  the  arm  should 
be  immediately  resorted  to. 

This  decision  of  the  surgeons  was  guardedly  communicated 
to  him.  He  was  asked — "  If  we  find  amputation  necessary 
shall  it  be  done  at  once:"'  He  replied  with  alacrity  and  that 
cheerful  disregard  of  pain  which  was  a  part  of  his  manly  spirit : 

"Yes!  certainly.  Dr.  McGuirc  do  for  me  whatever  you 
fli Ink  right." 

Preparations  were  accordingly   made   for    performing   the 

op<  ration,  and  the  patient  having  been   put  under  the  influ- 

of  chloroform,  his  arm  was  taken  off  without  subjecting 

him,  apparently,  to  very  great  pain.     He  slept  well  after  the 

operation,  and  when  he  woke  asked  for  Mrs  n,  and  re 

I  that  she  might  be  sent  for. 

His  thoughts  then  turned  to  the  battle  whii  '  I    the 

time   in    |  and   he  seemed   to   have  no  doubt  that  it 

would  result  in  victory  for  the  Confederates.  He  spoke  of 
the  attack  which  he  had  made  on  the  preceding  evening,  and 
said  with  a  glow  of  martial  sfrdor  and  a  proud  sn 

"  If  I  had  not  been  wounded,  or  had  had  one  hour  more 
of  daylight,  I  would  have  cut  off  the  enemy  from- the  road 
United  States  Ford;  wc  would  have  had  them  entirely 
■urrounded  j  and  they  would  have  been  obliged  to  surrender 
or  cut  their  way  out — they  had  no  otiter  alternative  My 
I  roups  may  sometimes  fail  in  driving  an  enemy  from  a  posi- 
tion ;  but  the  enemy  always  mils  to  drive  my  men  from  a 
position." 

He  <^id  not  complain  of  his  wounds,  and  never  referred  to 
them  unless  a  direct  question  was  addressed  to  him  on  the 
subject  by  some  .one.  He  spoke,  however,  of  the  fall  from* 
the  litter  as  he  was  being  borne  from  the  field ;  and,  although 
no  contusion  or  abrasion  was  perceptible  from  this  accident, 
declared  that  it  had  done  him  injury. 

About  this  time  he  had  the  great  satisfaction  of  receiving 
from  the  commander  whom  he  loved  and  admired  so  warmly 


J*)4  LIFE   OP  STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

that  uote  which  we  have  placed   as  a  motto  on  the  title  page 
of  this  book.     It  was  in  these  words  : 

"I  have  just  received  your  note,  informing  me  that  you 
were  wounded.  T  caunot  express  my  regret  at  the  occur- 
rence. Could  I  have  directed  events,  1  should  have  chosen, 
for  the  good  of  the  country,  t<»  have  been  disabled  in  your 
stead.  1  congratulate  you  on  the  victory  which  is  due  to 
your  skill  and  energy." 

This  supreme  recognition  from  his  Commanding  General  of 
(he  loss  which  the  cause  had  sustained  when  he  was  wounded, 
proved  most  grateful  to  his  feelings,  and  will  remain  his  no- 
blest epitaph. 

The  regret  of  General  Lee  at  this  deplorable  event  was  in- 
deed poignant.  The  soul  of  the  great  commander  was  moved 
to  its  depths )  and  he  who  had  so  long  learned  to  conceal  emo- 
tion, could  not  control  his  anguish.  "  Jaekson  will  not — he 
can  not  die  !"  General  Lee  exclaimed,  in  a  broken  voice,  and 
waving  every  one  from  him  with  his  hand—"  he  can  not  die  !" 

But  the  hours  were  hastening  on — Sunday  passed  ;  the 
wounded  man  sleeping  well  in  the  afternoon;  and  Monday 
came.  ^^ 

His  physicians  now  deemed  it  advisable  to  remove  him  to 
some  point  where  he  could  be  more  quiet ;  and,  accordingly, 
he  was  carried  to  Mr.  Chancellor's,  near  Guinea's  Depot,  on 
the  Richmond,  Fredericksburg  and  Potomac  Railroad,  about 
eight  miles  from  Hamilton's  Crossing,  where  every  arrange- 
ment was  made  to  ensure  his*  comfort  and  careful  treatment. 
During  the  ride  from  the  Wilderness  to  Guinea's,  he  com- 
plained greatly  of  the  heat  of  the  day,  and  in  addition  to  the 
wet  applications  applied  to  his  wound,  begged  that  a  wet  cloth 
might  be  laid  upon  his  stomach.  He  declared  that  this  gave 
him  great  relief,  and  on  Monday  night  he  slept  well,  and  ate 
with  relish  in  the  morning. 

During  the  ride  to  Guinea's,  he  had  maintained  his  serene 
and  cheerful  bearing,  and  talked  much  in  reference  to  the 


LIFE  OP  STONEWALL  JACKSON.  265 

battle  of  Saturday.  He  spoke  of  the  gallant  bearing  of  Gen. 
Rodes,  and  said  that  his  commission  as  Major-General  ought 
to  date  from  that  day;  and  of  the  grand  charge  of  the  old 
Stonewall  Br^ade  in  the  battle  of  Sunday,  which  he  had 
heard  of.     He  asked  after  all  his  officers,  and  said  : 

"  The  men  who  live  through  this  war  will  be  proud  to  say, 
ll  was  one  of  the  Stonewall  Brigade !'  to  their  children." 

With  that  grand  .modesty  which  ever  characterized  him,  he 
hastened,  however,  to  guard  this  declaration  eveu  from  the 
appearance  of  egotism ;  and  earnestly  declared  that  the  name 
of  "Stonewall"  did  not  belong  to  him;  it  was  the  name 
given  to  his  old  brigade,  and  their  property  alone. 

On  Tuesday  his  wounds  were  doing  very  well,  and  he  evi- 
dently looked  forward  to  a  speedy  recovery.  He  said  to  his 
physician :  "  Can  you  tell  me,  from  the  appearance  of  my 
wounds,  how  long  I  will  be  kept  from  the  field?"  and  when 
told  that  they  were  doing  remarkably  well,  he  exhibited  very 
great  satisfaction.  He  had  no  pain  in  the  side,  and  thought 
himself  well  enough  to  see  and  converse  with  his  staff;  but  he 
was  advised  against  this  by  his  attendants,  and  did  uot  persist. 

On  Wednesday,  his  wounds  continued  to  look  remarkably 
well,  and  he  was  now  regarded  as  so  far  out  of  danger,  that 
preparations  were  made  to  carry  him  by  railroad  to  Richmond. 
A  rain,  however,  which  had  set  in,  prevented  this  design, 
and  he  was  not  removed.  On  this  night,  while  Dr.  McGuire, 
who  had  not  closed  his  eyes  for  three  nights,  was  snatching  a 
little  rest,  the  General  complained  of  nausea,  and  ordered  his 
body  servant,  Jim,  to  place  a  wet  towel  on  his  stomach.  This 
was  done,  but  with  bad  results.  The  surgeon  was  waked  by 
Jim  at  daylight,  and  informed  that  his  master  was  suffering 
very  much.  The  pain  was  in  the  right  side,  and  was  due 
partly  to  the  heavy  fall  from  the  litter  while  being  borne  from 
the  battle-field,  and  partly  to  incipient  pneumonia,  which 
.  now  began  to  develop  itself. 

This  was  on  the  morning  of  Thursday,  and  later  in  the  day 


266  LIFE   OF    STONEWALL   J 

Mrs.  Jaokson  arrived.     The   presence  of  his  wife 
afford  the  General  very  great  joy,  and  thenceforth  she  dt] 
him  to  (he  moment  of  his  death. 

The  remainder  of  the  sorrowful  record   wilfcnot  fill    m 
space,  or  occupy  the  attention  of  the  reader  many  niom< 
The  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  destinies  of  humanity,  had  de< 
that  this  pure  and  spiril  should  pass  from  earth 

happier  and  more  peaceful  realm  ;  the  hours  of  the  great  Bol- 
dier  wore  numbered;  he  had  fought  his  last  battle,  finished 
his  work,  aud  now  was  about  to  receive  that  crown  laid  up  for 
•■  who  believe  in  Him  who  governs  all  thin 

On  Thursday  evening  all  pain  had  ceased;  but  a  mortal 
prostration  came  on,  from  which  he  never  recovered.  He  still 
conversed  feebly,  and  said  : 

"  i  these  wounds  a  blessing \  they  were  given  me 

"me  good   and  wise  purpose,  and  1  would  not   part  with 
them  if  I  could. " 

From  this  time  he  continued  to  sink,  and  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing it  was  obvious  that  he  could  only  live  a  few  hours  longer. 

mind  was  still  clear,  however,  and   he  asked  Major 
dleton,  his  Adjutant  General,  "who  was  preaching  at   h- 
quarters  on  that  day?"     Mrs.  Jackson  was  with  him  during 
his  last  moments,  and  conversed  with   him  fully  and  freely. 
She  informed  him  that  he  was  about  to  die,  aud  his  lepl} 

it  Very  pood,  very  good)   if  is  all  right .'  " 

He  then  sent  messages  to  all  his  friends,  the  generals  and 
others,  and  murmured  iq  a  low  voice  his  wish  to  be  buried  in 
ik  Lexington,  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia." 

His  mind  then  began  to  wander;  and  that  delirium  which 
seizes  upon  the  most  powerful  minds,  the  most  vigorous  brains, 
at  the  mysterious  moment  when  the  last  sands  fall  from  the 

•an  to  affect  him.     He  gave  orders  to  the  conimi 
of  his  corps,  the  surgeons,  and  the  commanders.      Among  the 
last  words  which  escaped  his  lips  were ; 

"  A.  P.  Hill,  prepare  tor  action  I" 


LIFE   OF  STONEWALL  JACKSON.  267 

After  this,  he  speedily  sank ;  and  at  fifteen  minutes  past 
three  in  the  evening,  he  tranquilly  expired. 

i eh  waa  the  death  of  Jackson  ;  serene,  resigned,  hopeful. 
fie  who  had  "passed  through.. a  thousand  perils  expired  of 
disease  upon  his  bed,  surrounded  by  weeping  friends,  who 
were  taught  by  that  august  spectacle  how  a  Christian  soldier 
can  die. 

The  body  of  the  dead  hero  was  conveyed  to  Richmond  ; 
and  here  a  great  and  solemn  pageant  marked  the  universal 
sense  of  loss.  The  body,  embalmed  and  prepared  during  the 
night,  was  placed  in  a  metallic  coffin  in  the  reception  room  at 
ihc  Governor's.  Boquets  of  flowers,  and  wreaths,  the  tributes 
of  the  tender  hearts  of  women,  covered  the  pall  ;  and  around 
the  coffin  was  wrapped  the  snow-white  banner  of  the  Con- 
federate  States. 

At  the  hour  appointed  the  coffin  was  borne  to  the  h< 
a  signal  gun  was  fired  from  near  the  Equestrian  Statue  in  the 
Square,  and  the  great  procession  began  to  move  to  the  solemn 
Btrains  of  the  Dead  March  in  Saul.     The  hearse  was  preceded 
by  two  regiments  of  General  Pickett's  Division,  with  arms 
reversed  j  that  general  and  his  staff  \  the   Payette  Artill 
and  Wrenn's  company  of  cavalry.    Behind  came  the  horse  of 
the  dead  soldier,  caparisoned  for  battle,  and  led  by  a  groom  ; 
bis  staff  officers ;  members  of  the  Old  Stonewall  Brigade,  in 
valids  and  wounded,  with  downcast  looks  ;  and  then  a  vast 
array  of  officials,  President  Davis,  members  of  the  Cabinet, 
Generals  Longstreet,  Elzey,  Winder,  Garnctt,  Kemper,  Corse, 
Commodore  Forrest,  with  the  judges,  citizens,  and  good  people 
geuerally  of  the  city. 

The  procession,  nearly  a  mile  in  length,  moved  down  Gov- 
ernor's street,  and  up  to  the  head  of  Main  street,  whence  it 
returned  to  the  western  gate  of  the  Capitol  Square,  where  a 
countless  multitude  had  assembled  'to  see  it  enter.  The  hearse 
moved  to  the  steps  of  the  Capitol,  the  band  playing  a  low 
;  and  lifting  the  coffin,  the  pall  bearers,  General  Long- 


368  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

street  and  others,  bore  it  into  the  hall  of  the  [louse  of  Rep- 
resentatives, where  it  was  deposited  upon  a  sort  of  altar,  cov- 
ered with  white  linen,  looped  up  with  crape,  in  front  of  the 
Speaker's  chair.  The  crowd  was  then  admitted  ;  and  old  and 
young,  the  grey-haired  man  and  the  child — 20,000  persons  it 
was  estimated — looked  upon  the  wan  countenance  of  the  great 
loldier. 

"  The  face  of  the  dead,"  says  a  writer  in  one  of  the  jour- 
nals, u  displayed  the  same  indomitable  lines  of  firmness,  with 
the  long,  slightly  aquiline  nose,  and  high  forehead,  of  marble 
whiteness j  but  the  cheeks  presented  a  deep  palor.  The  eye- 
lids were  firmly  closed,  the  mouth  natural,  and  the  whole 
contour  of  the  face  composed,  the  full  beard  and  moustache 
remaining.  The  body  was  dressed  in  a  full  citizen's  suit,  it 
being  the  object  of  his  friends,  and  we  doubt  not,  the  nation's 
wish,  to  preserve  the  uniform  in  which  he  fought  and  fell." 

From  the  Capital  the  remains  of  Jackson  were  borne  to 
Lexington,  where  he  had  lived  so  long,  passed  so  many  happy 
hours  in  other  years,  and  to  which  his  thoughts  went  back 
in  those  last  moments  when  he  murmured  "  Bury  me  in  Lex- 
ington, in  the  Valley  of  Virginia." 

"  Lexington !"  That  town  had  witnessed  the  peaceful  labors 
of  the  professor ;  the  calm  researches  of  the  quiet  student ; 
the  serene  enjoyments  of  the  good  husband  and  friend. 
Thence  he  had  departed  to  enter  upon  the  career  which  was 
to  make  his  name  a  famous  one  forever,  in  the  annals  of  a 
mighty  nation  and  a  tragic  epoch — to  crown  him  with  glory 
and  honor  as  the  right  arm  and  chief  hope  of  a  great  people. 
From  Lexington,  where  he  had  been  so  happy,  he  went  upon 
that  path  of  danger  and  trial  which  was  to  render  him  so 
famous.  He  murmured  "  Lexington  !  Lexington  !"  as  the 
German  exiles  are  said  to  murmur  "the  Rhine!  the  Rhine!" 

"  The  Valley  of  Virginia  !"  Those  words  too  had,  doubt- 
less, a  magical  influence  upon  the  -stern  and  unimaginative 
soul  of  the  celebrated  leader.     They  conjured  up  visions  of 


LIFE   OF  STONEWALL  JACKSON.  269 

his  chief  glories  won  upon  that  old  familiar,  long  loved  soil. 
They  meant  Kernstown  !  McDowell  !  Winchester  !  Cross 
Keys  !  Port  Republic  !  There  was  scarce  a  foot  of  the  great 
highways  of  that  region  but  had  been  trodden  by  him  and  his 
soldiers  ;  scarce  a  mile  over  which  he  had  not  fought.  There 
his  steps  had  been  clogged  with  battles — and  almost  every 
encounter  was  a  victory.  For  that  sacred  earth  he  had  fought 
so  long  and  persistently  j  thence  he  had  so  frequently  driven 
the  hireling  invader  j  every  foot  was  dear  to  him  from  the 
mouth  of  the  beautiful  Shenandoah  to  its  source ;  and  for  its 
freedom  he  had  cheerfully  risked  all  that  man  possesses.  He 
had  delivered  that  lovely  land  from  all  its  foes ;  and,  lying 
powerless  there  near  Fredericksburg,  his  heart  turned  fondly 
to  the  scene  of  his  happiness  and  his  fame.  In  that  earth 
which  he  had  redeemed — the  soil  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia — 
he  desired  his  ashes  to  repose. 

There  they  now  rest.  The  same  great  honors  which  had 
saluted  the  remains  of  the  famous  General  in  Richmond,  were 
paid  them  at  Lexington ;  and  there  his  body  was  committed 
to  the  mother-earth. 

The  journals  report  that  some  loving  hand  planted  on  his 
grave  a  piece  of  laurel  brought  from  the  grave  of  Napoleon 
at  St.  Helena;  and  if  a  comparison  of  the  military  genius 
of  the  two  was  meant,  the  tribute  was  not  inappropriate.  But 
a  greater  than  Napoleon  slept  in  the  grave-yard  near  the  quiet 
A'irginia  town — one  allied  to  him  in  capacity  for  making  war, 
nor  his  inferior ; — in  all  else  wholly  and  incomparably  supe- 
rior. 

On  their  death-beds,  these  two  men,  Napoleon  and  Jack- 
son, displayed  their  radical  difference  of  character  and  senti-i 
ment. 

Napoleon  died  with  the  fierce  cry,  "  fete  d'armee!"  upon 
his  lips.         < 
.  Almost  the  last  worda  of  Jackson  wore,  cc-\t  is  all  right!''' 


27"  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

tie,  his  mattered  words  were  busy  with  those  scenes  of  duty.. 
"  A.  P.  Hill,  prepare  for  actiou  I"  came  from  tlic  'lying  man  ; 
but  soon  a  greater  subject  absorbed  his  attention. 

"  It  is  all  right,"  expressed  his  sublime  trust  in  God:  his 
submission  to  the  divine  decree  which  had  struck  him  down. 

Napoleon  trusted  in  his  star — Jackson  in  God.  Napoleon 
was  a  pure  and  simple  fatalist :  Jackson's  motto  was,  "  Do 
year  duty,  and  leave  the  rest  to  Providence. " 

One  was  a  great  soldier  of  imperial  genius — but  no  more. 
The  other  was  a  mighty  leader,  but  an  humble,  faithful  child 
of  God,  as  well. 

He  accepted  the  lot  decreed  him  by  the  Almighty  Father 
with  submission  and   an  humble  hope,  believing  that   wli.it 
ever  God  permitted  was  the  best. 

Let  us,  too,  trust  that  all  is  well,  and  look  beyond  the 
storm — beyond  the  darkuess,  blood  and  inouruing  of  the  pre- 
sent— with  serene  trust  in  Him  who  rules  the  destinies  of 
men  and  nations. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 


Our  poor,  brief  record  of  this  splendid  career  is  finished. 
"  Would  it  were  worthier  I" — but  one  merit  it  at  least  po 
that  of  truth. 

Thus  fought  and  fell  the  great  leader  who  had  attracted  f'1 
himself  so  much  of  the  affection,  the  respect,  the  admiration 
of  his  countrymen  —thus  passed  before  the  eyes  of  the  world, 
and  into  the  shadow  of  the  tomb,  the  lofty  figure  which  will 
live  forever  in  the  memories  of  the  Southern  people,  as  iii 
every  heart. 

It  is  hard  to  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  the  effect  produced 
by  the  death  of  the  illustrious  General.  When  the  "  invin- 
cible Stonewall  Jackson"  was  thus  conquered  by  a  stronger 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  271 

enemy  than  man,  something  of  strength,  of  hope,  of  life  ap- 
peared to  be  removed  from  every  heart.  Falling,  he  seemed 
to  take  away  the  charm  and  prestige  of  victory.  The  sun- 
shine seemed  less  bright,  the  future  dark  with  clouds  and 
gloom.  His  name  had  been  a  tower  of  strength  to  all,  and 
when  this  mighty  bulwark  of  the  Southern  cause  was  over- 
thrown, Heaven  seemed  to  frown  upon  us,  and  to  punish  us. 
It  was  not  the  loss  of  the  leader  only  that  men  mourned  : 
it  was  the  friend,  the  benefactor,  the  father  who  was  taken 
from  the  people.  No  one  remembered  that  Jackson  was  not 
forty  when  he  died — nor  regarded  him  otherwise  than  as  the 
mature  patriot  of  age  and  experience,  with  all  the  wisdom  of 
gray  hairs.  Men  looked  up  to  him,  as  of  old  the  Greeks  did 
to  i he  wise  Ulysses  or  the  thoughtful  Nestor — as  to  one  who 
was  competent  to  hear  and  decide,  as  well  as  to  act,  in  every 
emergency.  There  was  something  child-like  in  the  sentiment 
with  which  the  whole  nation  mourned  his  death.  They  lis- 
tened to  the  announcement  with  a  hush  of  awe,  with  that 
silence  which  salutes  a  great  and  irreparable  public  calamity. 
Strong  men  wept  for  him,  with  a  sense  of  loss  and  desola- 
tion, as  children  weep  for  the  great  head  of  their  house,  who 
crowned  with  honors,  and  in  the  fullness  of  age,  descends 
into  the  tomb.  His  veterans  mourned  as  men  do  rarely — 
dumb  and  still  before  this  terrible  fatality ;  and  General  Lee, 
who  knew  his  incomparable  value  more  than  all  other  men, 
exclaimed  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  "  He  is  better  off  than  I  am. 
Refloat  his  lift  arm,  but  /  have  lost  my  right!''  All  classes 
shared  this  sentiment.  "  Jackson  is  dead  I"  sounded  like  the 
tolliug  of  great  bells,  like  the  death-knell  to  every  heart. 
Dead  ?  He  who  had  been  so  long  the  King  of  combat  ? — 
upon  whose  banner  victory  had  perched  wherever  he  delivered 
battle '! — the  invincible  Stonewall  Jackson  dead  and  gone  like 
a  common  every-day  mortal  ?  The  truth  could  scarcely  be 
realized  !  Who  could  supply  his  place  ?■  Who  could  lead  his 
veterans  to  victory  as  he  had   led   them  ?     His  form  had 


irl  LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

towered  iu  the  van  so  long,  that  men  began  to  look  upon  him 
as  the  man  of  Fate,  predestined  not  to  fall  until  his  work  was 
fiuished,  and  seeing  that  the  conflict  was  not  ended,  they  were 
struck  with  wonder. 

Did  God  decree  his  death  to  administer  a  rebuke  to  this 
man-worship? — to  show  thai  all  men  were  His  instruments, 
and  that  He  could  raise  them  up  or  strike  them  down?  Wo 
cannot  solve  the  problem,  and  bow  in  humble  submission  to 
the  inexplicable  decree,  well  satisfied  that  "all  is  right."  We 
only  know  that  the  hand  of  God  beckoned  to  him,  and  he 
went  from  us — humble,  child-like,  with  supreme  trust  in  Him 
whom  he  had  so  long  looked  to.  Let  us  take  comfort  from 
the  circumstances  of  his  death,  and  be  glad  that#.hc  thus 
passed  away — that  the  hero  of  a  hundred  battles  died  in  his 
bed,  with  loving  friends  around  him — not  upon  some  wild 
stricken  field — died  very  tranquilly,  without  the  racking 
pains  of  dissolution,  but  as  calmly  as  a  child,  his  great  life 
ebbing  wave  after  wave  away. 

The  aim  of  this  sketch  has  been  to  supply  in  a  convenient 
form,  and  without  delay,  the  facts  of  the  illustrious  soldier's 
career.  The  full  delineation  of  the  individual  in  his  charac- 
ters of  soldier  and  citizen — husband,  father,  and  friend — 
must  be  left  to  other  times  and  more  competent  hands.  It 
will  not  be  inappropriate,  however,  to  hazard,  even  here,  and 
pressed  by  the  emergencies  of  the  moment,  some  notices  of 
the  peculiarities  of  Gen.  Jackson's  character  and  genius. 

Where  the  opposing  forces  arc  anything  like  equal,  war  is 
a  contest  of  brains.  It  is  the  Generals  who  do  the  fighting, 
so  to  speak,  and  not  the  soldiers.  If  one  overcomes  the  other, 
and  defeats  or  destroys  his  army,  the  enquirer  will  not  have  to 
go  very  far  to  discover  the  reason.  One  side  is  victor  because 
the  General  was  a  better  master  of  the  art  of  making  war  than 
his  opponent — because  his  plans  were  deeper,  his  insight  into 
Ihoso  of  the  enemy  more  penetrating^  his  execution  more 
t,  or  ]ii;3  gerre 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  273 

— the  opponents  may  start  equal,- without  advantage  on  either 
side;  but  the  brain  of  Morphy  will  easily  win  the  game. 
Advance  another  step  :  let  us  say  that  the  armies,  instead  of 
equal,  are  greatly  unequal — that,  humanly  speaking,  one  is 
sure  to  be  defeated  by  the  other,  unless  some  force  sufficient 
to  turn  the  balance  be  thrown  into  the  scale  against  numbers. 

Then  the  general  who  wins  the  day  is  a  general  indeed  ! 

"  Hhese  were  soldiers  indeed!"  Jackson  said  at  Cold  Har- 
bour, as  he  looked  at  the  ditch  and  abattis  over  which  the 
Texans  charged  on  the  enemy's  batteries,  and  took  them,  at 
the  point  of  the  bayonet.  u  ll<  was  a  soldier  indeed  !"  will 
be  the  verdict  of  history  in  Bumming  up  the  career  and  char- 
acter of  Gen.  Jackson . 

The  fate  of  many  distinguished  soldiers  had  been  his.  Col- 
onel Jackson  of  the  early  days  of  Patterson  in  the  Valley 
was  acknowledged  to  be  a  hard  man  to  deal  with  at  close 
quarters,  and  all  that  was  necessary  it  was  said,  was  a  brain 
to  think  for  him — a  competent  superior  to  plan  his  movements 
and  tell  him  when  to  attack  or  retire  That  opinion  lasted 
for  some  time.  Colonel  Jackson  could  fight  harder  than  any 
other  man — was  a  veritable  bull-dog  indeed,  and  invaluable 
in  his  place — but  he  was  in  his  proper  place,  and  should  be 
kept  there. 

Then  he  fought  his  way  to  the  command  of  a  brigade.  The 
old  criticism  followed  him.  Brigadier-General  Jackson  was 
an  excellent  officer,  had  handled  his  command  with  distin- 
guished success,  but  he  had  now,  it  was  certain,  touched  his 
limit.  A  few  regiments  were  not  beyond  his  faculties,  and 
his  success  with  this  "  Stonewall  Brigade/'  which  people 
began  to  hear  about,  was  unquestionable ;  but  the  command 
of  a  division  was  quite  another  thing — above  all,  of  a  division 
detache.d  from  the  rest  of  the  army,  and  constituting  an  army 
in  itself.  The  responsibility  would  be  far  too  great  for  the 
man ;  he  could  not  safely  be  entrusted  with  that  command. 
He  was  soon  entrusted  with  it,  however,  ancl  how  he  deported 


274  LIFE  OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

himself  in  his  new  sphere  is  well  known.  The  critics  began 
to  discover  that  this  eccentric,  erratic  Colonel  Jackson  had 
been  misunderstood,  underestimated,  and  when  the  appoint- 
ment of  Lieutenant-General  was  scut  to  him,  they  found 
it.  perfectly  natural  and  proper. 

In  every  sphere-  of  action,  and  under  ever-increasing  com- 
mand and  responsibility,  General  Jackson  had  proved  him- 
self equal,  and  more  than  equal,  to  the  call  upon  his  faculties, 
and  the  fashion  of  talking  about  his  being  "only  a  fighter" 
became,  somehow,  obsolete. 

The  truth  is  that  the  great  soldier  shone  conspicuously 
wherever  he  was  placed.  He  was  a  good  Colonel,  a  better 
Brigadier,  and  as  Major  and  Lieutenant-General,  best  of  all. 

His  entire  campaign  against  Banks  in  the  lower  Valley — 
the  execution  of  the  plans  of  General  Lee  on  the  Chicka 
hominy  and  Rapidan — and  the  splendid  manoeuvring  of  his; 
corps  before  Pope  at  Manassas,  when  he  retired  in  face  of  the 
enormous  columns  of  the  enemy,  chose  his  ground  to  light, 
and,  while  waiting  for  General  Longstrcet,  turned  savagely, 
like  a  lion  at  bay — these  movements  undoubtedly  reveal  mili- 
tary genius  of  the  first  order,  and  vindicate  the  claim  of  the 
leader  who  executed  them  to  the  title  of  a  great  general. 

In  that  noble  letter  which  he  wrote  to  President  Davis  just 
before  his  death,  Gen.  Sydney  Johnston  declared  that,  after 
all,  he  agreed  with  the  popular  verdict,  that  success  was  the 
test  of  merit.  If  Jackson's  career  be  subjected  to  that  test, 
his  excellence  will  be  established.  No  soldier  of  the  war  was 
more  uniformly  successful  in  his  undertakings,  lfe  never 
tailed  to  achieve  his  object,  from  the  day  when,  with  2,700 
men,  he  held  in  cheek  11,000  at  Kernstown,  to  the  moment 
when,  moving  by  that  bold  and  stealthy  march  through  the 
Wilderness,  he  struck  the  enemy  with  the  suddenness  of  the 
thunderbolt,  and  determined  the  fate  of  Gen.  Hooker's  ad- 
vance. Such  successes  as  those  which  mark  the  career  of 
Jackson,  are  not  accidental.     They  are  the  tests  of  general- 


LI$E   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  275 

ship,  and  indicate  the  possession  of  faculties  which  God  vouch- 
safes to  few  of  his  creatures.  General  Jackson  was  undoubt- 
edly a  man  of  very  extraordinary  military  genius  ;  and  in  his 
whole  career,  it  will  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  find  a 
serious  error  of  judgment' or  fault  of  execution.  The  old 
faded  cap  of  the  General  covered  a  brain  which  revolved  deep 
thoughts — the  penetrating  eyes  beneath  could  not  be  deceived. 
The  wiliest  foe  could  not  outwit  the  simple-looking  personage  ; 
no  feint  or  trick  mislead  the  clear  judgment  presiding  serenely 
over  the  fiery  soul.  Indeed,  the  enemy  who  tried  to  under- 
mine him,  secretly,  found  a  mine  beneath  him — which,  almost 
before  he  knew  of  its  existence,  was  sprung  upon  him.  Tt  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  the  victor  of  Port  Republic  was  more 
than  a  match  for  all  his  foes  combined,  in  strategy,  aud  their 
best  friends  might  have  advised  the'm  to  depend  upon  num- 
bers and  hard  lighting,  rather  than  military  manoeuvre,  if 
they  wished  to  snatch  laurels  from  Jackson. 

Unfortunately,  however,  that  very  "  last  resort "  of  hard 
fighting  was  the  strong  point  of  this  General.  If  Jackson 
was  famous  for  anything  at  all,  it  was  for  an  inborn  and  inerad- 
icable tendency  to  stubborn,  unyielding  combat,  against  any 
odds.  Of  this  there  is  no  question.  He  had  little  of  the 
titrv  dash  of  Rupert,  at  the  head  of  his  cavaliers — but  the 
very  bull-dog  pertinacity  and  iron  nerve  of  Cromwell — sworn 
to  conquer  or  die.  He  was  in  favor  of  advancing  upon  Me- 
Olellan  at  Harrisou's  Landing;  on  Burnside  at  Fredericks- 
burg— he  was  always  in  favor  of  advancing.  To  advance  and 
h:  lit  appears  to  have  been  the  military  philosophy  of  General 
Jackson — and  to  go  on  fighting  until  the  enemy  was  whipped. 

The  extraordinary  success  of  his  career  can  only  be  ex- 
plained upon  one  hypothesis.  He  was  a  born  soldier.  This 
he  showed  in  all  that  he  undertook;  more  especially  in  that 
brief  but  decisive  campaign  of  the  Valley,  to  which  we  have 
have  so  frequently-  referred.  The  details  of  his  move- 
ments at  this  time  cannot  be  too  attentively  studied — and  it  is 


27G  LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

difficult  to  conceive  of  a  campaign  more  consummately  skillful 
in  design  and  execution.  Hopelessly  outnumbered  by  the 
Federal  forces,  beset  by  a  swarm  of  foes  in  front,  and  hemmed 
in  by  a  vast  cordon  on  every  side,  he  defeated  or  eluded  them 
with  matchless  skill,  and  bore  off  all  the  most  substantial  fruits 
of  victory.  Nothing  but  the  possession  of  incomparable  mili- 
tary genius  could  have  made  this  campaign  the  magnificent 
success  which  it  proved;  it  is  doubtful  if  any  other  general 
on  the  continent  could  have  conducted  it,  through  obstacles 
apparently  so  overwhelming,  to  an  issue  so  triumphant.  The 
more  deeply  it  is  studied  by  the  military  student,  the  more 
wonderful  will  that  famous  series  of  manoeuvres  appear.  It 
will  be  understood  how  critical  the  situation  was — how  nice 
A\c;re  the  calculations  of  time,  of  material,  of  chances.  ,  <>n.' 
broken  link  would  have  burst  the  great  chain — one  wheel  neg- 
lected would  have  thrown  into  disorder  the  complicated  ma- 
chinery of  Jackson's  movements.  After  Kernstown,  he  fell 
back  step  by  step — but  it  was  to  fight  the  battle  of  McDowell. 
After  "Winchester,  he  pressed  on  to  the  Potomac,  but  victory 
had  not  lulled  him  into  fatal  security;  and  when  Fremont 
and  McDowell  clashed  together  near  Strasburg  to  cut  him  off, 
they  struck  only  his  rear  guard — his  main  force  having  marched 
away  with  all  the  prisoners  and  captured  stores  to  the  upper 
Valley.  At  Port  Republic,  he  terminated  this  immortal  cam- 
paign by  whipping  his  enemy  in  detail — and  then  descended 
to  his  great  work,  in  the  lowlands  at  Cold  Harbor,  Cedar  Run, 
and  the  second  Manassas. 

This  campaign  of  the  V alley,  and  the  march  to  Manassas, 
will  remain  the  crowning  glories  of  Jackson's  career;  and 
they  display  a  genius  for  war  which  will  rank  him  with  the 
greatest  generals  of  history.  He  was  possessed  by  nature  of 
the  distinguishing  characteristics  of  the  Leader  of  men — of 
Alexander,  of  Caesar,  of  Napoleon.  To  make  war  against  wily 
and  powerful  enemies,  was  the  occupation  for  which,  by  his 
distinctive  genius,  he  was  fitted.     He  was  an  intense  man — 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  277 

concentrating  all  his  faculties  upon  the  object  in  view,  and 
striking  heavy  blows  when  once  the  combat  began.  To  go  on 
striking  with  all  his  force — to  advance,  to  be  the  aggressor,  to 
fight  to  the  death,  was,  as  we  have  said,  his  philosophy  of 
war.  His  military  calculations  omitted  no  element  of  strat- 
egy, but  to  the  wise  counsel  was  added  indomitable  combat- 
tiveness.  His  designs  had  a  grand  simplicity  about  them — 
"  Advance  antl  fight"  seemed  to  be  his  motto.  Personally,  he 
loved  excitement — even  thirsted  at  times  for  battle ;  and  he 
once  told  a  distinguished  officer  of  the  cavalry,  that  he  longed 
to  accompany  him  upon  one  of  his  raids,  and  share  the  perils 
and  excitements  of  the  occasion. 

We  have  said  that  General  Jackson  was  an  intense  man. 
We  mean  that  what  he  did,  he  did  with  all  his  might.  When 
he  put  his  hand  to  the  plough  he  never  looked  back,  but 
bent  all  his  energies  to  the  work  before  him.  His  will  was 
enormous,  his  strength  of  purpose  invincible.  He  never 
paused,  or  could  tolerate  the  thought  of  pausing,  until  all 
opposition  was  shattered,  and  the  enemy  overwhelmed  and 
driven  from  the  field.  At  Winchester  his  cry  to  the  weary 
troops  was,  "  Press  right  on  to  the  Potomac  I"  At  Frede- 
ricksburg, after  the  prostrating  conflict  of  that  hard-fought 
day,  Jackson  thought  of  one  thing  only,  an  advance  before 
night,  and  a  more  desperate  attack  than  before.  At  Chan- 
cellorsville  the  very  last  words  which  he  uttered  before  he 
fell  were,  "  Tell  A.  P  Hill  to  press  right  on  !" 

The  unconquerable  will  of  the  man  seemed  to  defy  all  op- 
posing forces,  and  to  wring  victory  from  the  very  jaws  of 
Fate.  Under  the  calm  exterior,  the  sweet  womanly  smile, 
was  a  tenacity  of  purpose  so  unbending — a  resolution  so 
stern  and  obdurate,  a  will  so  gigantic — that  to  the  present 
writer,  as  to  others  who  saw  this  great  man  at  critical  mo- 
ments, he  seemed  to  possess  the  power  of  overwhelming  all 
human  opposition,  and  compelling  Destiny  to  crouch  before 
him,  and  obey  him. 
13 


278  life  ;fwall  j 

lie  was  a  wan  of  earnestness  and   singleness  of  purj>. 
He  did  not  fritter  away   his   strength  upon  small  objects  or 
unimportant  things.     H  is  charac- 

terized the  great  judicial  min  o  and  lawyers 

of  England — the   power  of  discerning  the   main  obstacle  in 
hi-  path,  and  of  so  (lis;.  to  assail  it  to  the 

best  a  e.     The  fortress  i  once  overcome,  the  surround- 

ing country  he   knew   must  fall   into  his  hands;  and  he  did 
not  trouble  himself  in  reducing  the  villages. 

He  knew  what  was  necessary  to.  ensure  victory — was  fer- 
tile in  resource — of  unfailing  prudence  in  guarding  against 
disaster,  never  leaving  unstrengthened  that  fatal  weak  point 
in  the  dam,  through  which  the  flood  will  slowly  but  surely 
work  its  way,  sweeping  everything  eventually  before  it.  With 
him  there  were  no  trifles — nothing  was  too  small  or  unimpor- 
tant to  guard  against.  Like  the  painter  who,  when  criticised 
for  his  multitudinous  touches,  replied,  "  These  may  seem 
trifles,  but  they  secure  perfection,  and  perfection  is  no 
trifle" — he  never  rested  until  he  had  seen  in  person  that  all 
things  were  attended  to,  down  to  the  minutest  details  ;  rightly 
thinking  that  the  grand  result  was  worth  any  amount  of 
trouble.  He  never  failed  to  keep  his  line  of  retreat  open, 
and  left  nothing  to  good  fortune.  -  All  was  calculation  of 
forces,  time,  and  material. 

His  dispositions  for  attack  were  always  perfect,  thorough, 
and  the  very  best  that  the  time  and  place  would  admit  of. 
He  uniformly  proceeded  on  the  hypothesis  that  the  assailing 
force  possessed  from  that  circumstance  an  enormous  advan- 
tage; and,  once  in  motion,  he  advanced  with  the  utmost  rapi- 
dity, and  struck  with  all  his  strength.  If  one  blow  failed, 
another  was  delivered;  if  that  was  unsuccessful,  every  avail- 
able force  which  he  could  control  was  concentrated  for  another 
and  another.  It  was  only  when  the  overpowering  numbers  of 
the  enemy  made  the  encounter  hopeless,  that  he  retired  with 
dogged,  sullen  deliberation  —  as  dangerous  in  retreating  as 
when  advancing. 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  279 

His  tenacity  of  purpose  was  invincible.  Never  has  a  soul 
of  more  stubborn  nerve  been  born  into  the  world.  He  re- 
fused to  recognize  the  possibility  of  defeat,  and  never  knew 
when  he  was  whipped.  At  Kernstown  he  was  firmly  con- 
vinced that  if  daylight  had  continued,  his  little  handful  of 
weary  troops,  worn  down  by  exhausting  marches,  and  shat- 
tered by  a  day  of  terrible  conflict,  would  have  put  to  rout  the 
four-fold  force  of  Federals  in  front  of  them.  At  3Ianassas,  he 
believed  that  with  10,000  men  he  could  have  captured  Wash- 
ington. In  Charles  City  he  was  confident  that  if  McClellau 
was  attacked  in  his  defences  near  Harrison's  Landing,  his 
army  would  be  forced  to  surrender.  At  Fredericksburg  he 
projected  and  nearly  executed  an  audacious  assault,  with  the 
bayonet,  upon  Burnside's  entire  force  in  front  of  our  position 
at  nightfall.  Who  shall  say  that  on  any  of  these  occasions 
Jackson  miscalculated  his  strength,  or  over-estimated  his 
ability  ?  History  has  recorded  the  battles  which  he  won. 
Who  shall  say  that  those  which  he  declared  his  ability  to  win 
would  have  resulted  in  defeat  ? 

He  struck  boldly,  but  formed  his  plans  in  secret.  Mystery 
is  the  favorite  resort  of  charlatans ;  but  with  Jackson  it  was 
the  herald  of  victory.  He  talked  little,  and  measured  his 
words  when  speaking  of  military  affairs.  No  one  knew 
whither  he  was  going;  what  he  designed.  He  proceeded 
upon  the  sound  and  excellent  maxim  that  a  secret  is  always 
guarded  from  indiscretion  when  confined  to  a  single  person — 
and  the  person  whom  he  selected  as  the  sole  repository  of  his 
plans  was  himself.  He  even  put  himself  to  great  trouble  to 
mask  his  designs — camping  often  when  he  arrived  at  cross 
roads,  and  leaving  thus  that  body  of  quidnuncs,  which  are 
found  in  every  army,  profoundly  puzzled  as  to  what  direction 
he  would  take  with  his  command  upon  the  morrow.  On  one 
occasion  he  reprimanded  an  officer  on  the  march  for  engaging 
•  dinner  for  headquarters  at  a  house  a  few  miles  in  advance, 
upon   the  highway  which  the  troops  were  pursuing;  it  af* 


'2*0  LIFE -Of    STONEWALL   JACK- 

forded  information  of  his  line  of  march  to  that  extent,  and 
so  was  reprehensible.     A  favorite  with  him  was  to  in- 

stitute inquiries  in  the  presence  of  th  id  him  as 

to  roads  and  water-courses  in  a  direction  which  lie  did  n<>f 
intend  to  take  ;  even  to  order  m  ips  to  be  prepared,  and  roads 
laid  down,  as  though  for  insfanl  use.  Having  thus  set  every 
gossip  talking  and  predicting  his  intention-,  he  would  calmly 
march  directly  in  the  opposite  dir    -ion. 

u  Mystery,  mystery,  is  the  secret  of  succe 

He  was  just  to  his  officers  and  inen,  taking  up  prejudices 
rarely  for  or  against  persons,  and  measuring  out  equal  justice 
to  all.  No  man  could  say  that  he  had  treated  him  with 
'  conscious  unfairness ;  and  if  a  calm  examination  of  those 
cases  wherein  he  is  said  to  have  acted  from  personal  dislike, 
be  instituted,  it  will  be  found  that  he  proceeded  upon 
grounds  which  appeared  to  him  incontrovertible,  and  not 
from  haste  and  ill-temper.  Ill-tempered,  in  the  proper  mean- 
ing of  the  phrase,  he  never  was.  He  was  stern,  abrupt, 
harsh  at  times,  but  the  occasion  always  demanded  plain 
speech — and  his  object  of  reprimand,  correction,  or  repulse 
of  ill-advised  interference  once  attained,  the  offence  was  en- 
tirely forgotten,  and  the  offender  restored  completely  to  his 
former  position. 

He  had  the  faculty  of  calculating  forces,  rarely  developed. 
He  always  knew  his  strength  and  his  weakness.  When  he 
attacked,  it  was  because  he  knew  that  victory  was,  humanly 
speaking,  in  his  grasp.  He  based  his  calculations  not  upon 
numbers  only,  but  upon  position,  material,  the  morale  of  his 
troops,  and  the  effect  of  the  situation  upon  the  morale  of  the 
enemy,  lie  estimated  to  their  full  extent  the  decisive  cha- 
racter of  a  sudden,  bold,  and  obstinate  attack.  He  trusted 
most  to  the  bayonet,  but  had  a  marked  fondness  for  artillery. 
He  did  not  overestimate  its  value  in  inflicting  injury  upon  the 
enemy,  but  he  trusted  greatly  to  its  iuflueuce  upon  the  mo- 
rale of  his  opponents.     To  "  demoralize "  the  enemy  was  a 


LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  281 

a  large  part  of  his  military  philosophy,  and  he  rightly  thought 
that  a  foe  disheartened  is  a  foe  half  beaten.- 

In  summing  up,  briefly  and  generally,  the  peculiarities  of 
Jackson's  military  genius,  it  may  be  said  without  uumeaning 
panegyric,  or  the  least  disposition  to  over-estimate  his  facul- 
ties as  a  leader,  that  he  was  profound  and  comprehensive  in 
his  plans — as  rapid  and-mortal  as  a  thuuderbolt  in  execution  : 
that  he  possessed  a  courage  in  the  face  of  danger  which  no 
peril  could  affect,  no  possible  reverse,  however  sudden,  unex- 
pected and  disheartening,  deprive  him  of:  that  he  was  cau- 
tious, prudent,  judicious  in  all  his  dispositions :  lastly,  that 
he  possessed  the  native  faculty  of  penetrating  the  intentions 
of  the  enemy,  of  guarding  himself  wholly  from  surprise,  of 
delivering  his  blows  upon  the  weakest  point,  and  of  making 
war  on  all  occasions,  and  against  the  most  dangerous  oppo- 
nents, with  the  mastery,  precision  and  success  of  the  greatest 
leaders  which  the  world  has  yet  produced.  This  illustrious 
soldier  is  just  dead,  and  little  of  sound  criticism  has  been 
published  in  relation  to  him — few  estimates  of  his  genius 
have  been  made  The  present  writer,  though  an  humble  and 
obscure  soldier  of  the  Southern  army,  had  the  inestimable 
privilege  of  knowing  this  great  man,  and  seeing  him  in  bat- 
tle )  and  the  profound  conviction  of  his  mind  is  expressed  in 
the  statement  that  Gen.  Jackson  was  one  of  the  three  or  four 
great  masters  of  the  art  of  war  which  the  world  has  known. 
The  century,  the  material,  the  field  of  operations  were  all  dif- 
ferent, but  this  was  Alexander,  the  Conqueror  of  the  East ; 
Caesar,  the  greatest  leader  of  all  ages  ;  Napoleon,  the  supreme 
master  of  the  art  of  fighting  armies — contending  with  a  little 
army,  and  against  mighty  disadvantages,  for  the  liberty  of 
his  country.  It  was  the  New  World  and  the  Nineteenth 
Century  which  saw  this  struggle,  and  the  force  with  which 
the  great  Virginian  operated  was  small;  but  the  mastery 
of  his  art  was  just  the  same,  the  faculty  of  the  brain  as  per-* 
feet  in  proportion  and  as  great  as  in  his  predecessors — the  re- 


282  LIFE    OF    STONEWALL   .JACK' 

suit  the  same.     Jacksou  overcame  his  enemies  r  and 

Napoleon  did,  by  inexhaustible   reSburces  both  of  brain 
nerve:  by  that  superiority  which  God   had  given   him   for 
His  own  wise  ptir]  id  if  he  was  not  spared  to  exhibit 

greater  faculties  upon  a  larger  arena,  it  was  because  the 
Almighty,  in  His  wisdom,  thought  best  to  remove  him,  tear- 
ing the  great  struggle  in  the  hands  of  hia  associates. 

To-day,  when  the  smoke  has  scarcely  lifted  from  the  field, 
and  forms  are  seeu  but  dimly,  th.se  words  may  appear  ab- 
surd, and  dictated  by  a  weak  spirit  of  eulogy  and  hero-wor- 
ship ;  but  the  time  will  come  when  the  immense  military 
genius  of  the  Conqueror  of  the  Valley  will  be  accurate! 
timated,  and  his  statue  placed  beside  those  of  the  greatest 
Captains  of  History. 

Personally,  General  Jackson  was  awkward,  and,  in  his 
movements,  constrained  and  ungraceful,  IJe  was  tall,  raw- 
boned,  and  had  a  peculiar  stride  in  walking.  He  was  absent- 
minded  :  would  often  pause  suddenly  and  fix  his  eyes  upon 
the  ground  j  and  in  riding,  had  a  habit  of  slapping  his  side 
and  raising  his  arm  aloft — whether  from  some  physical  ail- 
ment which  he  thus  relieved,  or  in  prayer,  is  not  known.  His 
address  wanted  ease ;  his  manner  was  shy  and  constrained, 
like  that  of  a  student  who  has  so  long  secluded  himself  in 
libraries  that  the  faces  of  men  annoy  and  discompose  him. 
He  talked  little  with  strangers,  and  was  brief  of  speech,  but 
never  failed  to  return  the  salute  of  the  humblest  person, 
treating  all  men  with  the  most  kindly  courtesy.  His  eyes 
were  dark,  penetrating,  and  had  a  peculiar  brightness  when 
be  was  aroused,  which  the  most  casual  observer  noticed.  The 
remainder  of  the  countenance  was  not  remarkable,  but  his 
smile  was  very  sweet— ra  lady,  who  had  conversed  with  him, 
applied  to  it  the  word  "  angelic."  It  was,  indeed,  full  of  at- 
traction, and  indicated  the  wealth  of  kindness  which  lay  un- 
•der  the  calm,  somewhat  cold  exterior. 

The  result  of  the  great  soldier's  immense  popularity  lay  in 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  283 

the  universal  conviction  of  his  simplicity  and  goMness.  Sin- 
cerity, purity,  truthfulness  in  thought  and  word  and  deed,  lit 
up  the  path  upon  which  he  walked,  and  made  him  beautiful 
in  the  eyes  ef  the  good  men  and  women  of  the  land.  The 
people,  geuerally,  admired  him  for  his  military  successes;  but 
the  character  of  the  individual  was  the  passport  to  that  truly 
extraordinary  love  and  admiration  whicn  saluted  him  where- 
ever  he  moved.  His  enemies  even  shared  this  sentiment;  and 
gentlemen  who  remained  in  Winchester  during  the  Federal 
occupation  of  that  town,  assure  us  that  the  enemy  uniformly 
spoke  of  him  with  the  utmost  admiration,  and  declared  that 
nothing  could  induce  them  to  kill  a  man  like  Stonewall  Jack- 
son. Some  singular  details  are  given  of  the  feeling  of  the 
Federals  toward  him  in  that  region.  We  are  told  that  they 
regarded  it  as  Jackson's  property,  his  private  domain  j  and 
believed  that  he  would  return  at  any  moment  to  "  his  own 
again."  He  had  told  the  people,  in  his  cool,  brief  speech, 
"that  he  would  come  again,  and  as  certainly  as  now  " — and 
when  the  enemy  were  -informed  of  this,  they  gave  implicit 
credence  to  the  promise,  and  were  seen  on  more  than  one  oc- 
casion to  start  suddenly  at  the  very  report  that  "  Jackson  was 
coming  !" 

But  all  these  anecdotes  must  be'  reserved  for  another  occa- 
sion.    We  hasten  to  the  end  of  our  sketch. 

Few  human  beings  have  been  purer,  or  more  guileless.  He 
had  the  simplicity  of  a  child ;  and  the  renown,  which  ever 
increased  as  his  great  services  were  more  fully  recognized, 
seemed  only  to  make  him  more  modest  and  retiriug.  All  the 
ends  he  aimed  at  were  his  country's  j  and  that  profound  affec- 
tion and  respect  which  all  the  world  had  for  him,  will  last  al- 
ways, for  it  was  based  upon  the  eternal  foundations  of  truth 
and  goodness. 

To  say  that  he  was  a  pure  and  humble  Christian,  is  unne- 
cessary.    Piety  was  the  absorbing  and  controlling  sentimenw 
cf  his  being.     He  seemed  to  look  to  God  in  all  that  He  did, 

# 


LIFE   OF   STONEWALL   JACK 

and  thought,  and  uttered      Tic  was  a  m  mber  of  the  Pr< 
terian  Church,  but  no  sectarian     So  great  a  spirit  could  not  be 
tinged  with  bigotry ;  and  a   .  ,  long 

ring  on  his  staff,  assured  the   pre*  r  thai   he  was 

wholly  free  from  any  trace  of  illiberally  or  dogmatism  in  his) 
religious  creed  His  "fatalism"  has  been  dwelt  upon  persis- 
tently :  his  cool,  brave  bearing  in  the  heat  of  battle,  set  down 
as  the  result  of  some  strange  Oriental  fatalistic  sentiment, 
which  made  him  insensible  to  fear. 

Such  was  the  idle  talk  of  those  who  did  not  know  the  great 
soldier.  The  truth  may  be  stated  in  a  very  few  words:  Jack- 
son believed  in  the  doctrine  of  Predestination,  as  ail  rational 
minds  believe  in  it.  Looking  fervently  to  an  overruling 
Providence,  and  trusting  to  the  goodness  of  an  omnipotent 
Creator,  he  gave  himself  no  concern,  except  as  to  the  preform- 
ance  of  his  duty.  The  issues  of  life  and  death,  he  felt,  were 
in  a  mightier  hand  than  man's;  and  to  that  omnipotent 
power — to  the  "  King  eternal,  unchangeable,  invisible  " — he 
was  content  to  leave  the  decision  whether  he  should  live  or 
die.  The  shell  that  burst  in  iron  spray  around  him  did  not 
move  the  stern,  calm  nerve;  the  storm  of  bullets  which  he 
passed  so  often  through,  was  powerless  to  shake  the  heroic 
courage  of  the  soldier  of  God.  Whatever  was,  was  best,  with 
him  ;  and  when  they  told  him  he  was  going  to  die,  his  words, 
"  Very  good,  veiy  good;  it  is  all  right  !"  expressed  the  deep 
and  changeless  faith  of  one  who  left  all  issues  to  the  King  of* 
Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords,  with  calm  and  abiding  trust. 

Prayer  was  the  breath  in  his  nostrils,  and  he  never  failed 
in  going  into  battle  to  raise  his  heart  to  the  Lord  of  Hosts, 
beseeching  him  on  bended  knees  to  prosper  the  cause  of  truth 
right.  This  phase  of  the  great  leader's  character  need 
be  only  touched  upon  here.  The  world  has  been  glad  to 
hear  that  a  competent  writer,  possessed  of  ample  materials, 
grill  ere  long  present  a  full  and  complete  view  of  the  religious 
character  of  General  Jackson.  Let  us  here  say,  io  concluding 


LlFE    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON-  285 

our  sketch,  that  profound  submission  of  his  whole  heart  to 
the  will  of  God,  was  Jackson's  never-failing  sentiment  in  all 
the  scenes  of  his  arduous  and  exciting  career — that  the  great 
Lieutenant-General  was  as  humble,  simple  and  confiding  as-  a 
child  who  reaches  out  weak  hands  for  help  toward  its  father ; 
and  that  the  mighty  intellect,  the  stern,  unshrinking  will 
bent  with  humility  before  that  God  in  whom  he  trusted  with 
supreme  faith  in  every  hour  of  trial. 

For  such  a*  man,  to  die  was 'gain.  Through  the  Valley  of 
Shadows  his  path  led  surely  to  that  Realm  where  neither 
wars  nor  rumors  of  wars — nor  wounds,  or  suffering,  or  anxi- 
ety— can  ever  come.  In  the  darkness  of  the  trying  hour  the 
rod  and  the  staff  of  the  Almighty  Father  comforted  him. 
He  had  no  regrets,  no  longing  for  life.  Earth  possessed  for 
this  sublime  and  noble  soul  no  attractions  which  could  blind 
him  to  the  greater  joys  which  awaited  him.  He  had  fought 
ihe  good  fight,  had  finished  his  course,  and  kept  the  faith. 
God  called  him  in  the  hour  of  victory  ;  aud  his  pure  and 
child-like  spirit  passed  away  in  the  tranquil  hours  of  tha 
Sabbath  season  which  he  had  so  long  loved. 

The  poet  paints  the  happiness  of  his  hero  dying  "  in  the 
arms  of  victory ;"  but  the  lot  of  Jackson,  the  patriot,  the 
hero,  the  humble  Christian,  was  far  better.  He  fell  asleep 
with  the  u  everlasting  arms  beneath  him/'  in  the  assurance  of 
a  blessed  immortality. 


IS* 


APPENDIX. 


1. 

RATIONS    OF    GENERAL    JACKSON'S    COMMAND    F 
SEPTEMBER    5th    TO    SEFTEMBER    27th,    1862.'— OFFld 
REPORT. 


Headquarters  2d  Corps  A.  N.  V., ) 
April  23d,  1863,      j 

General, — I  have  the  honor  to  submit  a  report  of  the  ope- 
nations  of  my  command  from  the  5th  to  the  27th  of  Septem- 
ber,  1862,  embracing  the  capture  of  Harper's  Ferry,  the 
engagement  at  Shepherdstown,  and  so  much  of  the  battle  of 
Sharpsburg  as  was  fought  by  my  command. 

My  command  comprised  A.  P.  Hill's  Division,  consisting 
of  the  Brigades  of  Branch,  Gregg,  Field,  (Colonel  Brocket 
brough  commanding,)  Pender,  Archer,  and  Colonel  Thomas^ 
with  the  Batteries  of  the  Division,  under  Lieutenant  Colonel 
11.  L.  Walker;  Ewell's  Division,  under  Brigadier-General 
Lawton,  consisting  of  the  Brigades  of  Early,  Hays,  (Colonel 
Strong,)  Trimble,  (Colonel  Walker,)  and  Lawton,  (Colonel 
Douglas,)  with  the  Artillery  under  Major  Courtney;  and 
Jackson's  Division,  under  Brigadier-General  Starke,  consist- 
ing of  the  Brigades  of  Winder,  (Colonel  Grigsby,)  Jones, 
(Colonel  B.  T.  Johnson,)  Taliaferro,  (Colonel  Warren,)  and 
Starke,  (Colonel  Stafford,)  with  the  Artillery  under  Major 
Shumaker,  Chief  of  Artillery. 

On  the  5th  of  September  my  command  crossed  the  Poto- 
mac at  White's  Ford,  and  bivouacked  that  night  near  the 
three  springs  in  the  State  of  Maryland.  Not  having  any 
cavalry  with  mo  except  the  Black  Horse,  under  Captain  Ban- 


.  AfPENfi 

dolph,  I  directed  him,  after  crossing  the    I 

part  of  his  company  and  scout  to  the  right,  in  order  to  | 

k  of  the  column  from  that  direction.     For  the 
thorough  and   efficient  manner  in  wt  duty  was  per- 

formed, and  for  the  valuable  service  rendered  generally  whilst 
attached  to  my  headquarters,  I  desire  to  make  special  men- 
tion of  this  company  and  of  its  officers,  Captain  Randolph, 
and.  Lieirfcenunte  Paine,  Tylc  and  Smith,  who  frequently 
transmitted  orders  in  the  absence  of  staff  officers. 

The  nest  day  we  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  Frederick  City. 
Jackson's  Division  encamped  near  its  suburbs,  except  the 
Brigade  of  General  Jones,  (Colonel  Bradley  T.  Johnson  com- 
manding,) which  was  posted  in  the  city  as  a  Provost  Guard. 
E  well's  and  Hill's  Divisions  occupied  positions  near  the  rail- 
road bridge,  on  the  Monocacy,  guarding  the  approaches  from 
Washington  City.  In  obedience  to  instructions  from  the 
Commanding  General,  and  for  the  purpose  of  capturing  the 
Federal  forces  and  stores  then  at  Martinsburg  and  Harper's 
Ferry,  my  command  left  the  vicinity  of  Frederick  City  on 
the  10th,  and  passing  rapidly  through  Middletown,  Boonsbo- 
rough  and  Williamsport,  re-crossed  the  Potomac  into  Virgi- 
nia at  Light's  Ford,  on  the  11th.  General  Hill  moved  with 
his  Division  on  the  turnpike  direct  from  Williamsport  to  Mar- 
tinsburg. The  Divisions  of  Jackson  and  Ewell  proceeded 
towards  the  North  Mountain  Depot,  on  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Kailroad,  about  seven  miles  northwest  of  Martinsburg. 
They  bivouacked  that  night  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Depot.  In 
order  to  prevent  the  Federal  forces  then  at  Martinsburg  from 
escaping  westward  unobserved,  Major  Myers,  commanding  the 
Cavalry,  sent  part  of  his  troops  as  far  south  as  the  Berkeley 
and  Hampshire  turnpikes.  Brigadier-General  White,  who- 
was  in  command  of  the  Federal  forces  at  Martinsburg,  be- 
coming advised  of  an  approach,  evacuated  the  place  on ,  the 
night  of  the  11th,  and  retreated  to  Harper's  Ferry.  On  the 
morning  of  the  12th  our  cavalry  entered  tho  town,  as  in  tke- 


A'PPLNDTA.  "291 

rse  of  the  day  did  the  main  body  of  my  command.  At 
this  point,  abandoned  Quartermaster,  Commissary  and  Ord- 
nance stores  fell  into  our  hands.  Proceeding  thence  towards 
Harper's  Ferry,  about  11  o'clock,  A.  M.*,  on  the  following 
morning,  (13th,)  the  head  of  our  column  came  in  view  of  the 
enemy  drawn  up  in  force  at  Bolivar  Heights.  General  Hill, 
who  was  in  the  advance,  went  into  camp  near  Hall-town, 
about  two  miles  from  the  enemy's  position.  The  two  other 
Divisions  encamped  near  by. 

The  Commanding  General,  having  directed  Major-General 
McLaws  to  move  with  his  own  and  General  R.  H.  Anderson's 
Divisions,  to  take  possession  of  the  Maryland  Heights  over- 
looking Harper's  Ferry,  and  Brigadiers-General  J.  G.  Walker, 
pursuing  a  different  route,  to  cross  the  Potomac  and  move  up 
that  river  on  the  Virginia  side,  and  occupy  the  Loudoun 
Heights,  both  for  the  purpose  of  co-operating  with  me,  it  be- 
came necessary,  before  making  the  attack,  to  ascertain  whe- 
ther they  were  in  position.  Failing  to  learn  the  fact  by 
signals,  a  courier  was  dispatched  to  each  of  those  points 
for  the  required  information.  During  the  night  the  courier 
from  the  Loudoun  Heights  returned,-  with  a  message  from 
General  Walker,  that  he  was  in  position.  In  the  meantime, 
General  McLaws  had  attacked  the  Federal  forces  posted  to 
defend  the  Maryland  Heights  j  had  routed  it,  and  taken  pos- 
session of  that  commanding  position.  The  Potomac  river 
flowed  between  the  positions  respectively  occupied  by  General 
McLaws  and  myself,  and  the  Shenandoah  separated  me  from 
General  Walker ;  and  it  became  advisable,  as  the  speediest 
mode  of  communication,  to  resort  to  signals.  Before  the  ne- 
cessary orders  were  thus  transmitted,  the  day  was  far  ad- 
vanced. The  enemy  had,  by  fortifications,  strengthened  the 
naturally  strong  position  which  he  occupied  along  Bolivar 
Heights,  extending  from  near  the  Shenandoah  to  the  Foto- 
inac.  McLaws  and  Walker,  being  thus  separated  from  the 
enemy  by  intervening  rivers,  could  afford  no  assistance,  be- 


292  APPENDIX. 

yond  the  fire  of  their  artillery,  and  guarding  certain  avenues 
of  escape  to  the  enemy.     Audfrom  the  reports  received  from 
them  by  signals;  in  consequence  of  the  distance  and  ran. 
tlreir  guns,  not  much  could  I  their  artillery- 

so  long  as  the  enemy  retained  his  advanced   position  on  Boli- 
var  Heigh 

In  the  afternoon  (14th,;  General  Hill  was  ordered  to  move- 
along  the  left  bank  of  the  Shenaudoah,  turn  the  enemy's 
left,  and  enter  Harper's  Ferry.  General  Lawton,  command- 
ing Ewell's  Division,  was  directed  to  move  along  the  turn- 
pike for  the  purpose  of  supporting  General  Hill,  and  of 
otherwise  operating  against  the  enemy  to  his  left. 

General  J.  R.  Jones,  commanding  Jackson's  Division,  was 
directed,  with  one  of  his  brigades,  and  a  battery  of  artillery, 
to  make  a  demonstration  against  the  enemy's  right,  whilst  the 
remaining  part  of  his  command,  as  a  reserve,  moved  along  the 
turnpike.  Major  Massie,  commanding  the  cavalry,  was  di- 
rected to  keep  upon  our  left  flank  for  the  purpose  of  prevent- 
ing the  enemy  from  escapiug.  Brigadier-General  Walker 
guarded  against  an  escape  across  the  Shenandoah  river.  Fear- 
ing lest  the  enemy  should  attempt  to  escape  across  the  Poto- 
mac, by  means  of  signals,  I  called  the  attention  of  Major- 
General  McLaws,  commanding  on  the  Maryland  Heights,  to 
the  propriety  of  guarding  against  such  an  attempt.  The 
demonstration  on  the  left  against  the  enemy's  right  was  made 
by  Winder's  Brigade,  (Colonel  Grigsby  commanding.)  It 
was  ordered  to  secure  a  commanding  hill  to  the  left  of  the 
heights,  near  the  Potomac.  Promptly  dispersing  some  cav- 
alry, this  eminence,  from  which  the  batteries  of  Poague  and 
Carpenter  subsequently  did  such  admirable  execution,  was 
secured  without  difficulty.  In  execution  of  the  orders  given 
Major-Geueral  Hill  he  moved  obliquely  to  the  right  until  he 
struck  the  Sheuundoah  river.  Observing  an  eminence,  crown- 
ing the  extreme  left  of  the  enemy's  line,  occupied  by  infantry, 
but  without  artillery,  and  protected  only  by  an  abattis  of  fallen 


APPENDIX.  293 

timber,  Pender,  Archer  and  Brockenbrough  were  directed  to 
gain  the  crest  of  that  hill,  while  Branch  aud  Gregg  were  di- 
rected to  march  along  the  river,  and  during  ths  night  to  take 
advantage  of  the  ravines,  cutting  the  precipitous  banks  of  the 
river,  and  establish  themselves  on  the  plain  to  the  left  and 
rear  of  the  enemy's  works.  Thomas  followed  as  a  reserve. 
The  execution  of  the  first  movement  was  entrusted  to  Briga- 
dier-General Pender,  who  accomplished  it  with  slight  resist- 
ance ;  and  during  the  night  Lieutenant-Colonel  Walker,  Chief 
of  Artillery  of  Hill's  Division,  brought  up  the  batteries  of  Cap- 
tains Pegram,  Mcintosh,  Davidson,  Braxton,  and  Crenshaw, 
and  established  them  upon  the  position  thus  gained.  Branch 
and  Gregg  also  gained  the  positions  indicated  for  them,  and 
daybreak  found  them  iu  rear  of  the  enemy's  line  of  defence. 

As  directed,  Brigadier-General  Lawton,  commanding  Ewell's 
Division,  moved  on  the  turnpike  in  three  columns,  one  on 
the  road  and  another  on  each  side  of  it  until  he  reached 
Hallstown,  when  he  formed  line-of-battle  and  advanced  to  the 
woods  ou  School  House  Hill.  The  division  laid  on  their  arms 
duriug  the  night,  Lawton  aud  Trimble  being  in  line  on  the 
right  of  the  road,  and  Hays  on  his  left,  with  Early  imme- 
diately in  his  rear.  During  the  night,  Colonel  Crutchfield, 
my  Chief  of  Artillery,  crossed  ten  guns  of  Ewell's  Division 
over  the  Shenandoah  and  established  them  on  its  right  bank, 
so  as  to  enfilade  the  enemy's  position  on  Bolivar  Heights,  and 
take  his  nearest  and  most  formidable  fortifications  in  reverse. 
The  other  batteries  of  Ewell's  Division  were  placed  in  posi- 
tion on  School  House  Hill,  on  each  side  of  the  road. 

At  dawn  September  15th,  General  Lawton  advanced  his 
division  to  the  front  of  the  woods,  Lawton's  Brigade  (Colonel 
Douglas  commanding,)  moved  by  flank  to  the  bottom  between 
School  House  Hill  and  Bolivar  Heights,  to  support  the  ad- 
vance of  Major- General  Hill. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Walker  opened  a  rapid  enfilade  fire 
from  all  his  batteries  at  about  one  thousand  yards  range.    The 


AFPENDIX. 

batteries  on  School  Bouse  Hill  attacked  the  enemy's  line  in 
front.  In  a  short  time  the  guns  of  Captains  Brown,  Garber, 
Latimer  and  Lenient,  under  the  direction  of  Colonel  Cratch- 
field,  opened  from  the  rear.  The  batteries  of  Poague  and 
Carpenter  opened  fire  upon  the  enemy's  right.  The  artillery 
upon  the  Loudoun  Heights  of  Brigadier-General  Walker's 
command,  under  Captain  French,  which  had  silenced  the 
enemy's  artillery  near  the  superintendent's  house,  on  the  pre- 
ceding afternoon,  again  opened  upon  Harper's  Ferry,  and  also 
some  guns  of  Major-General  McLaws,  from  the  Maryland 
Heights.  In  an  hour  the  enemy's  fire  seemed  to  be  silenced, 
and  the  batteries  of  General  Hill  were  ordered  to  cease  their 
fire,  which  was  the  sigual  for  storming  the  works.  General 
Pender  had  commenced  his  advance,  when,  the  enemy  again 
opening,  Pegram  and  Crenshaw  moved  forward  their  batteries 
and  poured  a  rapid  fire  into  the  enemy.  The  white  flag  was 
now  displayed,  and  shortly  afterwards  Brigadier-General 
White,  (the  commanding  officer,  Colonel  D.  S.  Miles,  having 
been  mortally  wounded,)  with  a  garrison  of  about  11,090 
men,  surrendered  as  prisoners  of  war. 

Under  this  capitulation  we  took  possession  of  73  pieces  of 
artillery,  some  13,000  small  arms,  and  other  stores.  Liberal 
terms  were  granted  General  White  and  the  officers  uuder  his 
command  in  the  surrender,  which,  I  regret  to  say,  do  not 
seem,  from  subsequent  events,  to  have  been  properly  appre- 
ciated by  their  government. 

Leaving  General  Hill  to  receive  the  surreuder  of  the  Fede- 
ral troops  and  take  the  requisite  steps  for  securing  the  cap- 
tured stores,  I  moved,  in  obedience  to  orders  from  the  com- 
manding general,  to  rejoiu  him  in  Maryland  with  the  remaining 
divisions  of  my  command.  By  a  severe  night's  march,  we 
reached  the  vicinity  of  Sharpsburg  on  the  morning  of  the 
16th. 

By  direction  of  the  Commanding  General  I  advanced  on 
the  enemy,  leaving  Sharpsburg  to  the  right,  and  took  position 


APPENDIX.  295 

to  the  left  of  Gen.  Longstreet,  near  a  Dunkard  Church,  Ew- 
ell's  division,  (Gen.  Lavvton  commanding,)  forming  the  right, 
and  Jackson's  division,  (Gen.  J.  K.  Jones,  commanding,) 
forming  the  left  of  my  command.  Major-General  Stuart,  with 
the  cavalry,  was  on  my  left. 

Jackson's  division,  (Gen.  Jones  commanding,)  was  formed 
partly  in  an  open  field  and  partly  in  the  woods,  with  its  right 
resting  upon  the  Sharpsburg  and  Hagerstown  Turnpike,  Win- 
der's and  Jones's  brigades  being  in  frout,  and  Taliaferro's  and 
Starke's  Brigades  a  short  distance  in  their  rear,  and  Poague's 
battery  on  a  knoll  in  front. 

Ewell's  Division  followed  that  of  Jackson  to  the  wood  on 
the  left  of  the  road  near  the  church.  Early's  Brigade  was 
then  formed  on  the  left  of  the  line  of  Jackson's  Division  to 
guard  its  flank,  and  Hays's  Brigade  was  formed  in  its  rear; 
Lawton's  and  Trimble's  Brigades  remaining  during  the  even- 
ing with  arms  stacked  near  the  church. 

A  battery  of  the  enemy,  some  live  hundred  yards  to  the 
front  of  Jackson's  Division,  opening  fire  upon  a  battery  to 
the  right,  was  silenced  in  twenty  minutes  by  a  rapid  and  well 
directed  fire  from  Poague's  battery;  other  batteries  of  the 
enemy  opened  soon  after  upon  our  lines  and  the  firing  con- 
tinued until  after  dark. 

About  10  P.  M.,  Lawton's  and  Trimble's  Brigades  advanced 
to  the  front  to  relieve  the  command  of  Brigadier-General 
Hood,  (on  the  left  of  Major-General  D.  H.  Hill,)  which  had 
been  more  or  less'  engaged  during  the  evening.  Trimble's 
Brigade  was  posted  on  the  right,  next  to  llipley's,  of  D.  H. 
Hill's  Division,  and  Lawton's  on  the  left.  • 

The  troops  slept  that  night  upon  their  arms,  disturbed  by 
the  occasional  fire  of  the  pickets  of  the  two  armies,  who  were 
in  close  proximity  to  each  o*her.  At  the  first  dawn  of  day, 
skirmishing  commenced  in  front,  and  in  a  short  time  the  Fed- 
eral batteries,  so  posted  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  A  ntietam, 
as  to  enfilado  my  line,  opened  a  severe  and  damaging  fire. 


296  APPENDIX. 

TnLs  'crasly  replied  to  by  the  batteries  of  Poague,  Car- 

penter, Brockcnbraugh,  Maine,  Caskie  and  Wooding.  About 
sunrise  the  Federal  infantry  advanced  in  heavy  force  to  the 
edge  of  the  wood  on  the  eastern  Bide  of  the  turnpike,  driving 
in  our  skirmishers.     Batteri<  I  in  front  from  the 

wood  with  shell  and  canister,  and  our  troops  became  exposed, 
for  near  an  hour,  to  a  territic  storm  of  shell,  cannister  and 
musketry.  Gen.  Jones  having  been  compelled  to  leave  the 
field,  the  command  of  Jackson's  Division  devolved  upon  Gen. 
Starke.  With  heroic  spirit  our  lines  advanced  to  the  conflict 
and  maintained  their  position  in  the  face  of  superior  numbers. 
With  stubborn  resolution,  sometimes  driving  the  enemy  before 
them  and  sometimes  compelled  to  fall  back,  before  their  well 
sustained  and  destructive  fire.  Fresh  troops  from  time  to  time 
relieved  the  enemy's  ranks,  and  the  carnage  on  both  sides 
was  terrific.  At  this  early  hour  Gen.  Starke  was  killed,  Col. 
Douglas,  (commanding  Lawton's  Brigade,)  was  also  killed, 
Gen.  Lawton,  commanding  division,  and  Col.  Walker,  com- 
manding brigade,  were  severely  wounded.  More  than  half  of 
the  Brigades  of  Lawton  and  Hays  were  either  killed  or 
wounded,  and  more  than  a  third  of  Trimble's,  and  all  the  reg- 
imental commanders  in  those  brigades  except  two  were  killed 
or  wounded.  Thinned  in  their  ranks  and  exhausted  of  their 
ammunition,  Jackson's  Division  and  the  Brigades  of  Lawton, 
Hays  and  Trimble  retired  to  the  rear,  and  Hood,  of  Long- 
street's  command,  again  took  the  position  from  which  he  had 
been  before  relieved. 

In  the  meantime,  Gen.  Stuart  moved  his  artillery  to  a  po- 
sition nearer  to  the  main  command  and  more  in  our  rear. 
Early  being  now  directed,  iu  consequence  of  the  disability  of 
Gen.  Lawton,  to  take  command  of  Ewell's  Division,  returned 
with  his  brigade  (with  the  exception  of  the  13th  Virginia 
regiment,  which  remained  with  Gen.  Stuart,)  to  the  piece  of 
wood  where  he  had  left  the  other  brigades  of  his  division 
when  ho  was  separated  from  them.     Here  he  found  that  the 


APPENDIX.  29T 

enemy  had  advanced  his  infantry  near  the  wood  in  which  was 
the  Dunkard  Church,  and  had  planted  a  battery  across  the 
turnpike  near  the  edge  of  the  wood  and  an  open  field,  and  that 
the  Brigades  of  Lawton,  Hays  and  Trimble  had  fallen  back 
some  distance  to  the  rear.  Finding  here  Cols.  Grigsby  and 
Stafford  with  a  portion  of  Jackson's  Division,  which  formed 
on  his  left,  he  determined  to  maintain  his  position  there  if 
reinforcements  could  be  seut  to  his  support,  of  which  he  was 
promptly  assured.  Col.  Grigsby  with  his  small  command, 
kept  in  check  the  advance  of  the  enemy  on  the  left  flank, 
while  General  Early  attacked  with  great  vigor  and  gallantry 
the  column  on  his  right  and  front  The  force  in  front  was 
giving  way  under  this  attack  when  another  heavy  column  of 
Federal  troops  were  seeu  moving  across  the  plateau  on  his 
left  flank.  By  this  time  the  expected  reinforcements,  con- 
sisting of  Semmes's  and  Anderson's  Brigades,  and  a  part  of 
Barksdale's  of  McLaw's  Division  arrived,  and  the  whole,  in- 
cluding Grigsby's  command,  now  united,  charged  upon  the 
enemy,  checking  his  advance,  then  driving  him  back  with 
great  slaughter  entirely  from  and  beyond  the  wood,  and  gain- 
ing possession  of  our  original  position.  No  further  advance, 
beyond  demonstrations,  was  made  by  the  enemy  on  the  left. 
In  the  afternoon,  in  obedience  to  instructions  from  the  Com- 
manding General,  I  moved  to  the  left  with  a  view  of  turning 
the  Federal  right,  but  I  found  his  numerous  artillery  so  judi- 
ciously established  in  their  front  and  extending  so  near  to  the 
Potomac,  which  here  makes  a  remarkable  bend  which  will  be 
seen  by  reference  to  the  map  herewith  annexed,  as  to  render 
it  inexpedient  to  hazard  the  attempt.  In  this  movement  Ma- 
jor-General  Stuart  had  the  advance  and  acted  his  part  well. 
This  officer  rendered  valuable  service  throughout  the  day. 
His  bold  use  of  artillery  secured  for  us  an  important  position, 
which  had  the  enemy  possessed  might  have  commanded  our 
left.     At  the  close  of  the  day  my  troops  held  the  ground 


APPENDIX. 

which  they  had  occupied  in  the  morning.  The  next  day  we 
remained  in  position  awaiting  another  attack.  The  enemy 
continued  in  heavy  fore*  the  Antietam  on  our  left,  but 

made  no  further  movement  to  the  attack. 

I  refer  you  to  the  report  of  Mi  ral  A   P.  Hill  for 

the  operations  of  his  command  in  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg. 
Arriving  upon  the  battle-field  from  Har]  .  at  half- 

past  two  o'clock  of  the  17th,  he  reported  to  the  Commanding 
General,  and  was  by  him  directed  to  take  position  on  the 
right.  I  have  not  embraced  the  movements  of  his  division, 
nor  his  killed  and  wounded  of  that  action  in  my  report. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  19th  we  recrossed  the  Potomac 
river  into  Virginia,  near  Shepherdstown.  The  promptitude 
and  success  with  which  this  movement  was  effected  reflected 
the  highest  credit  upon  the  skill  and  energy  of  Major  Ilarmau, 
Chief  Quartermaster.  In  the  evening  the  command  moved 
on  the  road  leading  to  Martinsburg,  except  Lawton's  Brigade, 
(Colonel  Lamar,  of  the  61st  Georgia,  commanding,)  which 
was  left  on  the  Potomac  Heights. 

On  the  same  day  the  enemy  approached  in  considerable 
force  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Potomac,  and  commenced 
planting  heavy  batteries  on  its  heights.  In  the  evening  the 
Federals  commenced  crossing  under  the  protection  of  their 
guns,  driving  off  Lawton's  Brigade  and  General  Peudleton's 
artillery.  By  morning  a  considerable  force  had  crossed  over. 
Orders  were  despatched  to  Generals  Early  and  Hill,  who  had 
advanced  some  four  miles  on  the  Martinsburg  road,  to  return 
and  drive  back  the  enemy. 

General  Hill,  who  was  in  the  advance,  as  he  approached 
the  town,  formed  his  liue-of-battle  in  two  lines,  the  first  com- 
posed of  the  Brigades  of  Pender,  Gregg  and  Thomas,  under 
the  command  of  General  Gregg;  and  the  second  of  Lane's, 
Archer's  and  Brockenbrough's  Brigades,  under  command  of 
General  Archer.    General  Early,  with  the  Brigades  of  Early, 


ArpENDix.  299 

Trimble  and  Hays,  took  position  in  the  wood- on  the  right  and 
left  of  the  road  leading*  to  the  ford.  The  Federal  infantry 
lined  the  high  banks  of  the  Virginia  shore,  while  their  artil- 
lery,  formidable  in  numbers  and  weight  of  metal,  crowned  the 
opposite  heights  of  the  Potomac.  General  Hill's  Division 
advanced  with  great  gallantry  against  the  infantry,  in  the 
face  of  a  continued  discharge  ot  shot  and  shell  from  their 
batteries.  The  Federals  massing  in  front  of  Pender,  poured 
a  heavy  fire  into  his  ranks,  aud  then  extending  with  a  view 
to  turn  his  left.  Archer  promptly  formed  on  Peuder's  left, 
when  a  simultaneous  charge  was  made,  which  drove  the  enemy 
into  the  river,  followed  by  an  appalling  scene  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  human  life.  Two  hundred  prisoners  were  taken.  This 
position  on  the  banks  of  the  river  we  continued  to  hold  that 
day,  although  exposed  to  the  enemy's  guns  and  within  range 
of  his  sharpshooters  posted  near  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio 
Canal.  Our  infantry  remained  at  the  river  until  relieved  by 
cavalry  under  General  Fitzhugh  Lee. 

On  the  evening  of  the  20th  the  command  moved  from 
Shepherdstown  and  encamped  near  the  Opequon,  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Martinsburg.  We  remained  near  Martiusburg  until 
the  27th,  when  we  moved  to  Bunker  Hill,  in  the  county  of 
Berkeley.  The  official  lists  of  the  casualties  of  my  command 
during  the  period  embraced  in  this  report,  will  show  that  we 
sustained  a  loss  of  38  officers  killed,  171  wounded;  of  313 
non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  killed,  1,859  wounded  ; 
and  missing  57 — making  a  total  loss  of  2,438,  killed,  wound- 
ed and  missing. 

For  these  great  and  signal  victories  our  sincere  and  humble 
thanks,  are  due  unto  Almighty  God.  Upon  all  appropriate 
occasions  we  should  acknowledge  the  hand  of  Him  who  reigns 
in  Heaven  and  rules  among  the  powers  of  the  Earth.  In 
view  of  the  arduous  labors  and  great  privations  which  the 
•  troops  were  called  on  to  endure,  and  the  isolated  and  perilous 


300  APPENDIX. 

position  which   the  command  occupied  while   engaged  with 
greatly  superior   force  of  the   enemy,  we  ieel  the  encou- 
raging consolation  that  God  was  with  us  and  gave  to  us  the 
victory,  and  unto  His  holy  name  be  all  gratitude  and  praise. 
I  am,  General,  v.  ry  respectfully, 

Your  obedieut  servant, 

T.  J.  Jackson, 
Lieutenaut-G  eneral. 


•, 


1 1. 

I  III.   ul.n  STONEWALL 


A  writer  in  the  ''Southern  Illustrated  News''  has  tin 
Fowing  paragraph  in  reference  to  the  Stonewall  Brigadi 
lon^  uomuii  i   I  -d  by  Jacks 

11  The  Old  Stonewall  Brie/adr  '  What  a  host  rjf  thoughts, 
memories  and  emotions  do  these  words  excite!  How  like  a 
call  to  the  charge  sounds  the  pimple  mention  of  the  famous 
band  !     These  veterans  have  fought  and  hied  and  conquered 

many  battle  fields,  thai  memory  grows  weary  almo 
recalling  their  glories.  Gathering  around.  Jackson  in  the  old 
dajs  oi  Patterson  in  the  Valley,  when  Stuart  had  bur  a  hand- 
ful of  cavalry  to  watch  6he  whole  border,  and  Ashby,  our 
dead  hero,  was  n  simple  captain  —  they  held  in  check  an 
enemy  twenty  times  flieir  number,  and  were  moulded  by  the 
hand  of  theii*  greal  I6ader  into  that  stern  phalanx  which  do 
bayonet  could  break,  and  no  odds  intimidate.  They  \ 
boys  and  old  men,  the  humblest   6f  the   sons  of  toil,  and  the 

r  of  tli"  land— bill  united;  trained,  and  looking  with 
preme  confidence  to  their  Commander 

•■  And  then  commenced    their   long   career  of  glory — their 
wonderful  marches  over   thousands  of  miles — their  incessant 
combats  against  odds  that  seemed   overpowering — their  con- 
tempt of  snow  and    rain,  and    cold   and   hunger,  and 
1  I 


\IM'KM>1\ 

The  soul  of  their  leader  seemed  to  have  catered  into 
.-very  breast— and  "  Stonewall's  Band  "  became  the  terror  of 
the  enemy.  To  meet  that  enemy,  was  to  conquer  him,  it 
might  almost  be  said,  so  obstinately  did  the  eagles  of  victory 
continue  to  perch  upon  the  old  battle-flag.  The  laws  of  the 
human  body  seemed  to  have  been  reversed  for  these  men 
They  marched,  and  fought,  and  triumphed,  like  war  ma- 
chines, which  Pell  no  need  of  rest,  or  food^  or  sleep. 

"  In  one  day  they  marched  from  Harper's  Ferry  to  Stras- 
burg,  nearly  fifty  miles.  On  the  advance  to  Romney  they 
walked — many  without  shoes — over  roads  so  slippery  with  ice 
thai  men  were  falling  and  their  trims  going  oft"  all  along  the 
column — and  at  night  lay  down,  without  blankets,  on  the 
snow,  with  no  camp-fires  and  no  food. 

"At  the  first  great  battle  of  Manassas  they  were  nearly 
starved,  but  fought  with  desperation.  At  the  la^r  battles 
there  I  saw  them  by  the  road  side,  where  they  had  halted, 
and  one  of  my  friends,  a  brave  young  officer  of  the  command, 
thanked  me  for  a  biscuit. 

u  The  very  rapidity  of  their  marches  separates  them  from 
all  soldier  comforts' — often  from  their  very  blankets,  however 
cold  the  weather;  and  any  other  troops  but  these  and  their 
Southern  comrades  would  long  since  have  mutinied  and  de- 
manded bread  and  rest.  But  the  shadow  of  disaffection  never 
Hitted  over  forehead  in  that  command.  Whatever  discontent 
may  be  felt  at  times  at  the  want  of  attention  on  the  part  of 
subordinate  officers  to  their  necessities,  the  '  long  roll  '  has 
only  to  be  beaten — they  have  only  to  see  the  man  in  the  old 
faded  uniform  appear,  and  hunger,  cold,  fatigue,  arc  for- 
gotten. The  Old  Brigade  is  ready — *  Here !'  is  the  an 
to  the  roll  call,  all  along  the  line — and  though  the  eye  is 
dulj  from  want  of  food  and  rest,  the  arm  is  strong,  and 
the  bayonet,  i.s  .sharp  and  bright.  Before  those  bayonets 
no   foe  shall   stand — to   pass   them,   is  to   advance  over  the 


appendix.  :>0o 

bodies  of  dead  heroes,  grasping  still  the  trusty  musket,  even 
in  death. 

"The  campaigns  of  the  Valley  ;  the  great  fiauk  movement 
of  the  Chickahominy  ;  the-  masterly  advauce  upon  Mans 
in  the  rear  of  Pope — these  are  the  fadeless  glories  of  the  Old 
Brigade.  Their  path  has  been  strewed  all  over  with  batl 
Incredible  have  been  their  marches;  countless  their  combats 
— -almost  always  against  overpowering  numbers.  The  scythe 
Of  death  has  mown  down  whole  ranks  of  them;  but  the  Old 
Brigade  still  marches  on,,  and  tights  and  conquers.  The  war- 
worn veterans  -till  confront  the  foQj  though  the  thinned  ranks 
I'll  the  t;ile  of  their  glories  and  their  losses.  Many  brave 
souls  have  poured  out  their  blood  and  fallen;  but  they  are 
conquerory,  aud  more  than  couquerors,  in  the  world's  great 
<\r  The  comrades  of  these  heroes  hold  their  memories 
ered,  and  have  offered  bloody  sacriiices  to  their  mane*. 
•  Stead}  !  Close  up  !'  were  the  last  words  echoed  in  the  dying 
ears — and  the  aim  of  the  survivors  was  only  more  steady,  the 
charge  with  the  bayonet  more  deadly. 

"  Those  survivors  may  be  pardoned  if  they  tell  their  chil- 
dren* when  the  war  is  en^Jed,  that  they  fought  uuder  Jack- 
son, in  the  '  Old  Stonewall  Brigade.'*  They  may  be  pardoned 
even  if  they  boast  of  their  exploits — their  wonderful  marches 
— their  constant  and  desperate  combats — the  skill  and  nerve 
which  snatched  victory  from  the  jaws  of  defeat,  aud,  even 
when  they  were  retiring  before  overwhelming  "numbers,  made 
it  truly  better  that  the  foe  had  '  ne'er  been  born/  than  meet 
their  bayonet  charge. 

"In  speaking  of  this  veteran  legion,  'praise  is  vrrti 
Their  history  is  blazoned  all  over  with  glory.  They  are 
1  happy  names,  beloved  children  ' — the  favorites  of  fame,  if 
not  of  fortune.  In  their  dingy  uniforms,  lying  stretched  be- 
neath the  pines,  or  by  the  roadside,  they  are  the  mark  of 
mmy  eyes  which  see  them  not — the  absorbing  thought  in  the 


:;d4  ']  \ 

breast  of  beauty,  and  the  idols  of  the  popular  heart.      In  line 

the  enenij  .  with  tin  ii  bri  •iin;: 
terror  ul'  the  (be,  and  the  '    ir  deal  old  mother, 

Virginia. 

•'  The    ll<  Uol    lllllli 

1       To    him    w  ho   writes,   tli  ot   a 

Lcle  noble  and  heroic;  aud  their  old  tattered,  ball-picreed 
■  i  en  ign  of  liberty. 
"  Their  I  nd   all   about    them    i  ■  tamiliai    tu  me.      I 

seen  them  goin"  into    i  'tion     after  lighting  lour  bati 
in  live  days— with   the   regularity  "and    well-dressed   front  of 
holids  -  •  "ii  parade*.     There  was  no  straggling,  no  lag- 

rery  man  stood  at  his  work,<und  advanced  with  the 
steady  tramp  of  the  true  soldier.  The  ranks  were  thin,  and 
the  faces  travel-worn,  but  the  old  lia::  floated  in  the  winds  ul" 
the  Potomajc  as  defiantly  a?  on  the  banks  of  the  Shenandoah. 
That  bullet-torn  ensign  might  have  been  written  all  over,  on 
both  sides,  with  the  names  of  batl  '  the  list  have  then 

been  ineumpleie.  Manassas.  Winchester,  Kerustowu,  Front 
Koyah  Port  Republic,  Cold  Harbour,  Malvern  Hill,  Slaughter 
Mountain,  Bi»ists>w  Station,  Grovetou — Ox  Hill,  Sharpsbu 
Fredericksburg,  were  to  follow.  P  And.  these  were  but  the 
larger  name.-  upoa  the  toll  of  their  glory.  The  number] 
engagements  of  minor  character  arc  omitted — but  in  these  I 
have  mentioned  t)\vy  appear  to  the  world,  and  sufficiently 
'.indicate  their  claim  to  the  title  of  hei 

"I  seemed  to  see   these   great  names,  as    the  Old  brigade 
advanced  that  day;  and  my  whole  heart  weut    to  greet  them, 
livery  heart  that  is  true  to  our  great  cause,  and    loves    its 
lender.--,  will  do  .     much. 

"  For  these  men  of  the  Old  le   have  been 

among  the  bravest — with  their  noble  comrades  of  (Jen. 
ps,    they   have    I    v^'-l    the    tide    of  battle  upon 
mauy  hard  fought  Bold ;. 


APPENDIX.  305 

14  They  have  '  {lone  well  for  the  Republic' — and  let  their 
uaiues  be  honored'.  Let  tlie  public  salutation  greet  thein — 
salutation  by  the?  lip  and  pen,  no  less  fclfan  by  the  heart — 
meet  them  and  greet  them,  and  call  thein  glorious — children 
of  glory  inarching  on  to  the  [.'authcon  of  Fame,  iu  ;■  ■■ 
and  peaceful  laud  ! 


THE 


14 


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A  newly  revised  and  corrected  Edition. 

Translated  from  the  French  of  Octave  Feuillet, 

A  more  ethical  and  esthetic  Romance  than  this,  has  not  appeared  in  our  genera- 

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Ihifl  will  be  the  most  brilliant  and  interesting  novel  ever  written  in  the  South.   It  is 
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BEST   FARSBtY   JOURNAL 

IX    THE 

SOU  TIIEEN    CONFEDER A< !  V  ! 

T II  I ••. 

"  mmm  illustrated  nhii  " 

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the  South  to.  be 

"NOT  A  LUXURY,  BUT  A  NECESSITY!" 

The  cheerful  and  genial  charactei  of  tbe  Paper  has  rendered  it 
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il  fjui  c<  ss  has  been  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  journalism  in 
the  South.     Each  number  of  the  Paper  is 


arrangements  have  been  made  which  it  is  hoped  will  place 
Editors  in  possession  of  the  issues  of  the 

French,  English  and  German  Periodical  Press! 


The  best  productions  of  which  will  be  transferred  to  the  -  olumn  , 
of  the  "  Nkw  . 
Among  the  regular  Contributors  to  the  columns  of  Hi'    -:  ,\  i 
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John   Esten  Cooke, 

Harry  Timrod, 

James   Barron    ii'opp, 

ram  h.  liayne, 

Besides  a  host  of  others  of  well  known  literary  ability. 


The  Proprietors  of  the  :.(  News  iadulge  the  hope  thai  th«*y 
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'  Confederacy  an 

Equal  to  "H//  ever  published  in    America! 
The  Proprietors  are  daily  expecting  the  arrival  of  fonts  of 

MUSIC    AND    CHESS    TYPES, 

V>  Inch  will  enable  them  diversify  the  contents  of  each 

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The  "News"  is  cent  to  all  parts  of  the  Confederacy  al  Ti;\ 
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Til  E 

''^milxm  fMustvated  jlctrs." 

Circulating  oj   thi    Confederacy! 

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1 .  "iily  a  limited  space  is  devoted  to  advertise  mrnts. 

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3.   The  paper  is  generally  pit.  i  rved  Pot  landing. 
1.  The  advertising  pages  are  rendered  attractive;  and  i 
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5.  The  charges  are  not  as  large  proportionately,  as  those  of  any 
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Tkrms — Twenty-five  cents  per  line. 
Add  '.*' 

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Richmond.   \'«. 


Jll>l      1*11  111  l!«lt(><l 


DARRELL  MARKHAM; 


OR, 


THE  CAPTAIN  OF  THE  VULTURE. 

By   Miss   M.    E.    BKADDOS, 

Author  oi  'Aurora  Floyd,"  etc. 

We  have  just  issued  from  our  presses,  '•'  Darrell  Markhaiu  ;  or, 
The  Captain  oi  the  Vulture!"  by  the  celebrated  English  authoreasj 
Miss  Braddon,  who  has  already  contributed  so  largely  to  the  Eng- 
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for  herself  a  world-wide  reputation  a3  a  writer,  and  made  an 
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FRIOE    TWO    DOLLARS. 


Address 


AIRES  &   WADE,  Publishers, 

'Richmond,  Vd\ 


THE 


StfBI^'teWB 


j 


A    NOVELETTE. 


i$\\  a  Soutljcvn  (StattUmait. 


This  pleasing  little  tale  is  "  Dative  here  and  to  the  manner 
bora."  M  is  a  story  ef  Southern  Life,  and  will  w^ll  repay 
perusal. 


PRICE    ONE    DOLLAR. 

A  Mi-    s 

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REP   To 


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IX  tin:  most  aimmioa  .  u:. 

K  S, 
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tfD  :;i  LLS, 

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,  liC    TIIK 


- 


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f*  now  pronounced  bv  th.->  T.:ulie?,  the  Soldiers  and  the  PrPaa 
oi"  the  South? to  be 

"HOT  A  LUXURY  BOT  A  NECESSITY.'' 

The  cheorfu)  in. I  genial  character  of  the  paper  has  rendered  ii  a  welcome  j  hritot  i., 
fVfry  b™.-..  hold  in  the  Confederacy.    Indeed,  its  success  hai  been  unpi<-. !e 
der.ted  ia  the  hislorj  of  journalism   In  the   South.       Arrangement*  baTt} 
r&ldi  it  5s  hoped  will  pla«;e  the  editors  in  possession  of  ttte 
*  of  the  Kh'j'ish,  }■<  ■  riodictil  Pr<  a--,  the  bt»st 

I'lwluc.Uons  of  which  will  he  tran?femd  to  the  columns  of  the 
i  fc*6."    Among  the  regular  contributors  to  the  columns 
Of  the  '•  N;.**"  <asy  be  found  the  names  of 

John  tt,  .bonijisoit,     ,)olm  Ksleu  Cooke,      Harry  Ttinrotl, 
>  i«»es  Barron  Hope,  Paiil  H.  Wayne, 

liffiM-ae  &  ho.n  of  olhcis  of  well  ko«>wn  liter-wr  repujbetjon.      Kach  number  of  the 

'IIS  IS  EiliSillLT  1UIST1MI 

The.  subscription  p.iee  of  the  piijrer  U   .'/'AW  DOll  mS 
•per  ytar}  or  St  A    1>i>1a,\Us  for  »a   fcwW/,.*.     The  Trade  supplied 

ui  Fll'TWX  Do  1,1. AH  .  I. 

^r- Address  AYKES  L  If  ASK* 


Hl|IM^4lJVl»fttli<'IHIl 


KMlntftK  kflktl* 


rn 


A  pleasant   and  »•:;!;■.  i:,lr.  ftf-e,  by  a  .Southern  <■> 

I'KK.'K  U-Xft  bUJ.LA.il. 

DAIIRELLMARKHAM; 

Qr\  the  (  ,-e  MuSture] 

u.s,  A  Uhur  Oi'  "Ah- 
YKK«  JL  V/AL, 


